Bath City Farm wins £50k Community Pollinator Grant
The charity have been handed the cash from the West of England Combined Authority
There's an exciting 12 month project coming up for the Bath City Farm charity.
They've been handed £50,000 to help create new habitats for pollinating insects - including wildflower meadows, a species-rich grassland and a new community garden area.
They've called it a huge boost for wildlife on the farm, which welcomes tens of thousands of people every year.
It's thanks to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority's Community Pollinator Grant - which is said to enable the Farm to create a 'mosaic of habitats' across a 16-acre space on the site.
Bath City Farm say the money will utilise the space to provide year-round feeding, breeding and shelter for the pollinators - with much of the work over the next 12 months set to be undertaken by their many volunteers.
As part of their plans, there'll be six acres of wildflower meadows which they say will be 'an excellent educational space for wildflower management'.
Wildflower meadows are a habitat that has declined by 97% since WWII.
Bath City Farm will also create a 60-meter bee and butterfly bank within the late flowering wildflower meadow and multiple bug hotels around the site.
They'll also plant 1,000 bulbs, plugs and seeds across half an acre of community gardens, whilst they're also planning a new nature trail that people will be able to follow using a printed guide and newly created interpretation boards.
Farm Director, Brendan Tate-Wistreich said: “This funding from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority will be a huge boost for wildlife on the Farm and the people who come to enjoy the Farm's wild spaces.
"This will help us transform the mosaic of habitats over the coming years with new trees, hedgerow, wildflower areas, and species rich grassland increasing biodiversity and climate resilience.
"We are committed to supporting the regions climate strategy and we are excited to share learning with others working towards this shared goal.”
All the plants and trees selected by the Bath City Farm team for the project are native or are otherwise beneficial to wildlife and include snowdrop, bluebell, honeysuckle, hawthorn, sycamore, blossoming cherry and crab apple, hazel, wild pear, nettle-leaved bellflower and wild strawberry.
The team at Bath City Farm have teamed up with other local ecological organisations and groups - including Avon Wildlife Trust and Bathscape - for the project.