Community Pollinator Fund

Community Pollinator Fund - Small Grant Application Form

Small Grant Application Guidance

Community Pollinator Fund - Medium - Large Grant Application Form

Community Pollinator Fund Medium - Large Grant Application Guidance

Community Pollinator Fund - Appendix D - Financial Annex

Community Pollinator Fund - Project Ideas Guidance

FAQs

bee.bold@westofengland-ca.gov.uk

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Across Bath and North-East Somerset, housing estate residents are designing and caring for 8 pollinator gardens, and free training is teaching communities about the ecosystems found on roadside verges and open green spaces. Neighbourhood Nature Areas are being created along with urban nature reserves in Bath cemeteries. These sites will have signs educating residents of the pollinators and new habitats.

Heart of BS13’s community-focused project engages locals in open-access nature activities to teach about the value of increasing pollinators within inner-city areas.

A Pollinator Trail will take visitors between the BS13 Climate Hub and Flower Farm, through seven locations with native plants and a bug safari. Markers along the trail provide important pollinator information. Workshops on planting and seed lantern-making are being run for local children and families, culminating in a lantern parade at the end of the project. Existing sites are being improved including a living roof on the Heart of BS13 Roundhouse and installation of living green walls at the Flower Barn and Climate Hub kitchen.

The Ashton Vale Pollinator Hub is being created; a new community space for plant propagation and long-term education and engagement for the BS3 area. The sustainably built roundhouse will feature a living green roof and will offer classes, courses, and a free outdoor space for community groups to use. Pollinator-friendly flowers and plants will be grown in abundance in their new demonstration garden and polytunnel, with plants provided for free to allotment tenants within south-west Bristol and the wider local community.

Residents across the West of England are being supported to reduce pesticide use, raise awareness and develop skills to create pollinator and wildlife-friendly habitats at home and on allotments in this wide-ranging partnership project.

6 demonstration gardens are set to showcase pollinator-friendly, drought-resistant gardening, whilst a regional wildlife garden competition and a community inquiry into inclusivity for wildlife gardening will support and inspire action. Alongside this, a training program and a number of community events are focussing on habitat creation, wildlife recording, and pesticide reduction for West of England residents, with all resources made available through an online resource bank.

The NHC will also work closely with other projects through the Community Pollinator Fund to share information and amplify communications and actions for pollinators across the region.

10 schools across the West of England are creating their own pollinator-friendly nature reserves in their school grounds. All staff, students and volunteers are receiving training on looking after the reserves alongside site visits and school assemblies. Each school will be connected as part of the Avon Eco Schools Network which is a platform for sharing experiences, celebrating achievements and offering opportunities to learn about wider environmental issues. Pupils will also be given free seed packs and guidance on improving their own gardens.

This rewilding project is improving community engagement and access to nature by creating an outdoor classroom at Oldbury-on-Severn Primary School. The outdoor classroom will host 60 lessons per year to improve attitudes towards nature and pupil’s wellbeing, whilst opening to local community groups. Over 1000m2 of school grounds will be rewilded through restoring the historic ecosystem, incorporating native plant species and wood pile habitats.

A disused and inaccessible area of Southfield Recreation Ground is being transformed into a community space with an outdoor classroom and wildlife area. The community space will feature an abundance of flowers and shrubs, creating a new pollinator habitat with bee bricks, bug hotels and a dead hedge with a log shelter.

An area of Chipping Sodbury Common is being converted into a 4-hectare wildflower meadow. A carefully managed mowing regime organised by volunteers and the Sodbury Woodland and Nature group will help the meadow thrive. This location is part of a ‘B-line’; a Buglife initiative to build insect pathways and habitat stepping-stones across the UK to connect existing wildlife areas.

The Vinney Green courtyard is being transformed into a haven for pollinators by adding plants, trees, and shrubs alongside insect-friendly habitats such as bug hotels and natural logs. Young people will learn about horticulture, pollination, and British wildlife through the installation of informative signage, and take part in the courtyard’s renovation lasting several weeks. This builds on the enthusiasm generated by a previous initiative that transformed a portion of the grounds into a "Forest School".

Several micro-projects are being run in the Staple Hill area which are engaging and inspiring the community to take action to improve habitats. Gardening and nature clubs are being run for young people, well as skill-building sessions for adults on pollinator-friendly gardening. Neglected local green spaces will be improved by residents who will suggest areas to tackle within Staple Hill during community action days. Pollinator-friendly flowers are being planted along Staple Hill High Street and other popular public sites to create welcoming and wildlife-friendly spaces. A wildflower meadow is being installed at Page park, and a community event will be held, including a talk on how to encourage pollinators into gardens.

This project is creating a mini orchard with 10 fruit trees and wildflower spaces in woodland clearings around Pensford village. Residents and volunteers are planting native wildflower plug plants alongside bee and bug hotels made during a workshop. Educational signage is also being installed. Posters and free seed packets are being sent to residents and school children to improve their own green spaces for pollinators.

Tuckett Field in Frenchay is a significant conservation area and a priority site for tackling the current climate and ecological emergency within Winterbourne. Eight acres of species rich grassland and

wildflower meadow are being created and managed sustainably, generating long-term habitats and food sources for pollinating insects as well as birds, bats, and other small mammals. Extensive plug planting is taking place in the field and along hedgerow lines, in addition to building a new clay-lined pond and replanting in the ornamental pond and wetland area.

To tackle biodiversity loss, Yate Town Council has a Local Nature Action Plan that spans over six years and covers 850 hectares of green and urban spaces. This funding award is contributing to several projects within the plan, promoting biodiversity in North Yate’s five largest green spaces including Millside Play and Nature Park; Brinsham Fields and lake; Peg Hill Skate Park; Halifax Road Green Space; and Tyler’s Field. Planting sessions and biodiversity events are being run to plant fruit trees, shrubs, and wildflower meadows, restore a neglected wildlife pond, and to raise awareness of nature-friendly initiatives with North Yate residents.