Bracknell Forest Council and The Lexicon have been recognised as a Bees’ Needs Champion in 2024.
The environmental awards scheme is run by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). It acknowledges the exceptional efforts local authorities, community groups, farmers and businesses have made to support pollinators.
Insects, such as bees, are major pollinators of most plants. Pollination is the act of transferring pollen grains between the male and female parts of flowers, which creates offspring for a new generation. They have an important role to play in maintaining a healthy natural environment
To support pollinators, Bracknell Forest rangers have been focusing on their traditional programme of hay-cutting and grazing at sites such as Peacock Meadows. This helps to promote a rich diversity of wildflowers and support a wide variety of pollinators. They are also establishing new meadow areas and working with local beekeepers to keep active hives on key sites.
Volunteers have worked alongside rangers to enhance the existing environments to create welcoming habitats for bees. This includes digging steps into an exposed bank at Buckler’s Forest, to create nesting habitats for mining bees. They have also converted old telecoms boxes into pollinator hotels by filling them with bark and bamboo.
In Bracknell town centre, The Lexicon has created a bee garden on the roof of Princess Square car park with three hives. To launch the project, 5 local primary schools helped create a new bee hotel, which was completed by the wider community during Bee Aware Week. Over 1,000 children got involved and 1,000 bee-bomb seed balls were distributed to plant at home.
Stephen Chown, Head of Natural Estates, said:
“Pollinators, such as bees, are important to the environment and society. We need pollinators to grow the food we eat and to maintain healthy natural ecosystems.
“Rangers have worked tirelessly to create the best possible bee and insect friendly habitats throughout our borough. Their good knowledge and experience in these matters means they can make sure our green spaces are as wildlife friendly as possible. We are so proud they have received this recognition.”
Sue Boor, Head of Marketing at The Lexicon said:
“The success of using urban spaces, such our car park roof for wildlife, is proof that all environments can be made into welcoming habitats.
“The Bee Aware Week was a huge success in raising awareness to all ages. To see so many children getting involved with the project shows that the future generations understand the importance of maintaining a healthy bee population.”
The full list of Bees' Needs Champions 2024 is on GOV.UK.
Top image: Proudly displaying their certificate – Parks and Countryside Rangers (in grey tops) Alex Veness, Alex Smith and Joe Malyan with Sue Boor, Head of Marketing at The Lexicon.