Saltford Parish Council is delighted to have been shortlisted for the WECA ‘Bee Bold – People for Nature’ award for its ‘Saltford Wildflower Project – All You Seed is Love’ initiative.
Saltford Parish Council has been informed this week that Metro Mayor Dan Norris and their panel of regional experts loved the work that SPC has been doing to support pollinators. The awards scheme is part of a wider package of measures from Metro Mayor Dan Norris to make the West of England the bee and pollinator capital of the UK. Six projects from businesses, schools, and community groups were announced as winners of the inaugural Bee Bold Awards on 1 October, celebrating innovative approaches that protect and support pollinators to recover and thrive. A list of winners of the WECA ‘Bee Bold’ awards can be found on their YouTube channel. SPC is very pleased to have been considered for the award, and appreciates being named on WECA’s Bee Bold Awards shortlist.
Looking to the future, Saltford Parish Council has recently been named by B&NES Council as only one of two parish councils in Bath and North East Somerset to be a partner its funding application to WECA for £89K for further environmental initiatives. If successful, this will help continue and expand SPC’s wildflower initiative in the village to support pollinators. Watch this space – and hopefully future ‘Bee Bold Awards’ news!
Saltford Parish Council’s ‘Saltford Wildflower Project – All You Seed is Love’ launched almost a year ago to coincide with COP26, please see our news article here. Phase two of the project was launched in the spring, see our news article here. Since the project launched last autumn the vast majority of the original 300 Beebomb packs have been distributed, totalling at over 600sq metres of wildflower seeds being planted in the village.
Beebomb seedballs have been given to Saltford residents who have liaised with B&NES Council directly, volunteers to plant in the seven areas around the village as agreed directly by SPC with B&NES Council, and the wildflower meadow being created by the playing fields in Saltford involving young people from the Saltford Scouts. Beebombs have also been given to Saltford Primary School for their Green Team to plant in the school’s garden, and to Kingfisher Lodge Care Home in Saltford for their resident gardens to enable both Saltford’s youngest and older residents could be involved and enjoy more flowers and bees in their surroundings. Beebombs were also distributed to the 20+ residences who took part in the Saltford Festival Open Gardens event in July, in the hope that when these private gardens are open to visitors at future similar events those enjoying others gardens can see the benefits of wildflower areas for pollinators and hopefully be inspired to create similar in their own gardens.
Wildflowers can take a couple of years to establish and the effects will last for years to come, supporting pollinators into the future and providing flowers around the village for the enjoyment of all.