‘Bee Kind’ campaign launched to help nurture nature in Mansfield

Mansfield District Council is behind the Bee Kind scheme to boost the number of flowers across the area in a bid to attract more pollinating insects.

It has prepared 39 street planters with wildflower seeds and wants businesses, community groups and residents to plant wildflowers for their own 'bee-friendly' projects.

The Bee Kind initiaive launches on the council’s Facebook page on June 1 and is part of its Cleaner Greener Mansfield campaign.

Bee Kind activities include competitions, videos and demonstrations, while some Mansfield market stalls will be giving away free seeds.

The campaign promotes bee facts, information on flowers that encourage bees, gardening tips, making a planter or bug hotel and offers nature craft ideas and activities for youngsters and schools.

Twenty planters will be dotted around the town and children will be able to follow a trail of bees hunting for letters spelling out a sentence.

Coun Andy Burgin, portfolio holder for leisure and environment, said: "The Bee Kind scheme is about helping to make Mansfield a greener and cleaner place, somewhere that people can be proud to call home.

"As well as 90 per cent of wild plants, globally, 75 per cent of farmed crops depend on bees and pollinating insects. These small creatures have a really big impact on our existence.”

Bee keeper Martyn Belcher, of Mansfield Honey Bees, will feature on a video explaining how bees make honey and why wildflowers are so important for them.

He said: “Bees are such an important part of our environment, so it’s vital we work together to spread awareness about them. I’m thankful to be asked to talk about honey bees for the Bee Kind project.”

Part of the scheme involves allowing areas of council-owned land to naturalise, to help create wildlife corridors identified by signs saying ‘Excuse the weeds, we’re feeding the bees’.

The trail map and competition details are available from stallholders on Mansfield market.

Folk should email answers to [email protected] by July 31 to be in with a chance to win vouchers to use on the market.

For more information visit www.mansfield.gov.uk/beekind and www.mansfield.gov.uk/cleanergreener.

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