The Bee Friendly scheme, thought to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, is aimed at communities and community groups, schools, public bodies, businesses, universities and colleges, places of worship and aims to reduce and reverse the decline in numbers of pollinator species like bees and butterflies.
The Cabinet Secretary visited St Peter’s Community Gardens in Cardiff, to present them with a Bee Friendly certificate to acknowledge the important work that they are doing to help pollinators. 22 Bee Friendly Certificates have been handed out since the scheme was launched last year.
Wales was the first country in the UK to have an Action Plan for Pollinators, stating our ambition to reduce and reverse the decline in pollinators. This is helping us to achieve our aim of becoming the first Pollinator-Friendly nation in the world.
Lesley Griffiths said,
“We want the natural environment to be managed so that it continues to provide us with the environmental, economic, and social benefits now and in the future. By encouraging more community groups like St Peter’s to join the Bee Friendly scheme we can protect pollinators and create thriving environments for local communities to enjoy.
“I am delighted Cardiff University is now Bee Friendly and I have been really impressed with the work it has done as part of its Pharma Bees project. This is a really unique project and shows how important our pollinators are to all walks of life.
“I hope others follow the lead of Cardiff University and St Peter’s Community Gardens to help make Cardiff the first Bee Friendly capital city in the world!”
In 2016 Cardiff University School of Pharmacy provided St Peters with its first bee hive and the funds to enable community volunteers to be trained as beekeepers. The hive will provide the pharmabees team with an excellent source of honey for testing from a wonderful variety of wildflowers, vegetables and fruit trees planted at the gardens.
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