Happy World Bee Day!
20th May 2021 - Here is a picture of our female Mason Bee, Bella, sheltering from the cold wet weather in our Mason Bee nest box.
We had a lot of work to do, and lots of seeds to sow. Green Council members started the ball rolling, but other people saw us working, and wanted to join in. Wildlife Club began!
We have sown a long list of seeds and lots of butterfly and bee friendly wild flower mixes. We make sure we are only using peat free compost. We have also collected various plants from members of staff who kindly donated them. Because we are attracting pollinators into the Quad, we have also sown vegetable seeds to take advantage of their hard work!
We have been recycling tins from the kitchen to make planters. We have also recycled old trays and storage boxes. Mr Dudley kindly built us a lovely pergola to make a seating area, and Mr Anderson installed a tap and hosepipe to make watering easier.
The current list of plants and seeds in the Quad is as follows:
Alliums
Amelanchier
Apple trees
Beetroot
Buddleia
Bugle
Carrots
Catmint
Chard
Chives
Clematis
Crabapple trees
Crocosmia
Daffodils
Dogwood
Forget me not
Godetia
Grape Hyacinth
Herb Robert
Honesty
Honeysuckle
Iris
Ivy leaf Toadflax
Lady’s Mantle
Lavendar
Liatris
Marigold
Nasturtium
Onions
Phacelia
Phlox
Purple Toadflax
Rowan
Sedum
Selfheal
Snowdrops
Sprouts
Sweet peas
Sunflowers
Winter honeysuckle
Butterfly seed balls containing Purple Loosestrife, Forget-me-not, Musk mallow, Red campion and Yarrow
Bee seed balls containing Birdsfoot Trefoil, Foxglove, Red Clover, Viper’s Bugloss and Wild Marjoram
During lockdown in early 2021, Green Council kept in touch through DB Primary. One of the things we discussed was whether we could turn the Quad area into a Wildlife Garden. Green Council's wishlist for this area was as follows:
Flowering plants for bees and butterflies
Bee watering station
Bee hive
Bird bath
Bird feeders
Rainwater collection - water butt?
Shade for slugs and bees
Bug hotel
Pond or lake
Logs for woodlice and other insects
Compost bin
Ivy
Fruit trees
A feeding station and a birdbox
Tomato and Strawberry plants
Potatoes
Blackberries or raspberries
Buddleia and lavender
Could we make this work?