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photo of Newbald school pupils posing with new planters and plants

Bee Paradise on Co-op Corner

In 2019 NPC was successful in securing a grant from the East Riding Year of Green Action Fund which enabled us to create a ‘Bee Paradise’ at Co-op Corner (corner of Galegate and Eastgate)

Cllr. O'Sullivan with children from Newbald Primary school planting bee friendly plants
Cllr. O’Sullivan and Newbald school pupils planting bee friendly plants

We purchased two large hexagonal planters and a bench, all made from hard wearing maintenance-free and environmentally friendly recycled plastic.

Children from Newbald Primary School learned about the importance of bees, determined what plants the bees would like in the different seasons and worked with Councillor Beccy O’Sullivan to plant a wide variety in the planters. In so doing, they have created a special area purposely to attract and feed bees.

Bees are vital to a healthy environment and healthy economy. They are the world’s most important pollinator of food crops. One third of the food that we consume each day relies on pollination mainly by bees. Without bees, we may lose all the plants that bees pollinate, all of the animals that eat those plants and so on up the food chain. According to the report ‘Bees Under Siege’ (WWF and Buglife), many species of bee are on the brink of extinction in parts of the UK and some types have been lost entirely. Habit loss is cited as one reason for this.

photo of Co-op corner with new planters and benchNPC knows that the environment is increasingly important to our residents. Many have also long called for something to be done to improve Co-op corner. This bee paradise has made this corner more visually appealing and now provides somewhere that residents and visitors can sit down and enjoy. Over time, more bee friendly plants will be added to create a green oasis on this corner.

The Parish Council would like to thank Cllr. O’Sullivan for organising the project, ERYC for the grant, Newbald School for their help and also former Cllr. Becky Clarke and Evergreen Garden Care Ltd for the high quality compost they donated.