UWE Bristol: Space for Nature winner (Education provider), Bee Bold Awards

1
00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:05,640
my name is Richie fluster and I'm the

2
00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:07,919
grounds manager here at you so the

3
00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,500
beeline project is just a series of

4
00:00:07,919 --> 00:00:11,700
edible pollinator spaces around the

5
00:00:10,500 --> 00:00:16,379
campus

6
00:00:11,700 --> 00:00:18,300
students staff working on campus they

7
00:00:16,379 --> 00:00:20,520
they've all got their little set routes

8
00:00:18,300 --> 00:00:23,340
moving around campus A to B and we

9
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:24,720
wanted to kind of provide nature on

10
00:00:23,340 --> 00:00:27,359
those little routes we use edible

11
00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,519
pollinators so that we kind of could

12
00:00:27,359 --> 00:00:31,700
invite people to use you know things

13
00:00:29,519 --> 00:00:34,980
like Rosemary chives

14
00:00:31,700 --> 00:00:36,960
and at the same time provide those those

15
00:00:34,980 --> 00:00:39,559
kind of flowers and resources for the

16
00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,559
pollinators

17
00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:46,200
I've always been interested in in nature

18
00:00:42,899 --> 00:00:48,360
connectivity so the connectivity of

19
00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:50,820
nature itself so corridors and things

20
00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:53,100
like that across across campuses and

21
00:00:50,820 --> 00:00:57,000
that type of thing but also like

22
00:00:53,100 --> 00:00:59,219
people's connection with nature and how

23
00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,719
that progresses from you know Primary

24
00:00:59,219 --> 00:01:02,760
School secondary school and then into

25
00:01:00,719 --> 00:01:05,280
universities so we get a lot of people

26
00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,680
arriving on campus who maybe have lost

27
00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:10,320
that connectivity over time so this is

28
00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:13,380
an opportunity to to yeah showcase

29
00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:14,270
nature and get people back involved in

30
00:01:13,380 --> 00:01:18,299
it maybe

31
00:01:14,270 --> 00:01:20,479
[Music]

32
00:01:18,299 --> 00:01:20,479
foreign

What they did

The Beeline project has created pollinator-friendly areas and edible food resources across the three university campuses.

The perennial plants within the Beelines are recognisable, edible and high-performing pollinator plants, whilst dedicated wildflower areas have been created using native meadow flowers and seeds.

Fruit trees and foraging plants planted within the campuses provide resources such as nuts, berries, fungi, pollen and edible flowers - for both humans and wildlife.

The grass areas in the Beeline areas are also managed to increase biodiversity, through changing cutting regimes, reducing soil fertility and adding plug plants and seeds.

The project has also minimised negative impacts through a commitment to zero waste - green waste is composted on-site and used as mulch, water waste is reduced through the installation of reservoirs in planters and plants from suppliers are sourced using recyclable pots where possible.
The Beeline team also grown plants on-site at the university, providing local, pesticide- and peat-free stock with a low carbon footprint.

The project focuses on how staff, students and the public engage with the Beelines to promote good behaviours, positive change and help encourage greater nature connectivity through informative signage, beeline walks and accessible planting for different user groups.

The impact for UWE and beyond

The Beeline project supports the university's sustainability commitments and feeds into the university's key performance indicators. This means that there is a commitment by the wider university to support and improve habitats for pollinators year on year.

Providing the pollinator-friendly spaces and signage educates students, staff and visitors about the decline in pollinators as well as local, seasonal food to reduce carbon footprints.

The well-being 'Restoration Garden' gives access to passive and active nature connectivity for staff and students, something which is very important during the student's exam periods, with the social prescribing also helping to promote healthy eating alongside planting for pollinators.

The impact for pollinators

The Beeline project has created a range of different areas of pollinator-friendly spaces across UWE's three campuses. This includes perennial planting in containers, areas of wildflower meadows and fruit trees in a mini orchard. This provides great foraging resources across the campuses and wider surroundings, and more sites are planned.

By using integrated pest management (IPM) procedures in the BEELINE orchards as well as 'no-spray zones' in Beeline planting areas has meant that insecticides and pesticides are not required - which helps our pollinators and other insects to thrive.

The grassland management strategy of the campuses has also been adapted to increase the biodiversity of amenity grassland areas, which will also improve the foraging opportunities for pollinators such as butterflies, solitary bees, bumblebees and beetles.