We all rely on pollinators like bees and butterflies to grow our food, but there’s been a worrying 22% decline in pollinators since the 1970s. With the right management, the Forest can be harnessed to provide wildflower havens for pollinators: rich woodlands, beautiful meadows and buzzing hedgerows.
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Beneficiaries
One in every three mouthfuls of food we eat depends on pollination. Without bees and other insects pollinating flowers we would not have fruit and vegetables we rely on, and the green spaces we enjoy. Sadly, there’s been a 22% decline in the distribution of pollinating insects in England since 1970, and a loss of 98% of the UK’s species-rich grasslands in just 100 years – which now covers just 1% of land. 71% of butterflies and 50% native bumblebees are declining. These are worrying statistics.
Improving biodiversity across our established woodland and neighbouring habitat to ensure conditions for a variety of pollinators to thrive including: • Creating a woodland habitat mix that pollinators enjoy of short grasses, taller ‘herbs’, a scrub layer – alongside the high canopy of the woodland. • Clearing invasive, and non-native plants, to ensure survival of these delicately balanced habitats. • Maintaining wildflower rich grassland avenues that provide superhighways for pollinators.
