Angus horticultural projects are helping to boost pollinator numbers

Across the country, organisations at local level are transforming parks, hospital grounds and community gardens into nature-friendly spaces to help bees, hoverflies and other pollinating insects, according to a new report by NatureScot.

The seventh Pollinator Strategy Progress Report details the work being done by individuals, local authorities, environmental groups, researchers and particularly community groups across the country in support of the Pollinator Strategy for Scotland.

Pollinators are vital for biodiversity and play a critical role in food and farming industries, but their populations face challenges due to land use intensification, habitat loss, diseases, pesticides and climate change.

Despite these challenges, community groups and volunteers have been improving their local areas by planting wildflower meadows, orchards and native hedgerows and adding pollinator-friendly borders and beds.

And Angus and the wider area is well represented in the report.

East Haven Together, near Carnoustie, has been recognised for its work by last year winning the Gardening for Wildlife award at last year’s RHS Community Awards. The village charity has its own sustainability strategy which links to local, national and global goals. Community gardens promote the fishing heritage of the village and there is a focus on biodiversity and sustainable practices.

In Arbroath, two projects are playing their part, with Hope Organic Garden introducing wildflower beds and borders to their grounds and including a bug hotel built by a local primary school. Urban Pollinator Habitat Creation by Kirkton Community Garden introduced yellow-rattle seed last year to reduce dominant grasses and a new cutting regime of once per year and removal of cuttings has been incorporated. The area is part of a community space where residents can interact while engaging with nature.

The Shiell Street/Queen Street Community Gardens are a strip of land by a busy footpath to the nature reserve and esplanade in Broughty Ferry. It has been developed by Grove Academy pupils over a number of years, and was the 2024 winner of KSB’s Gardening with Young People award.

The Ninewells Community Garden is a therapeutic garden in the grounds of Ninewells Hospital which is a previous winner of the RHS Community Award for Gardening for Health and Wellbeing. In 2024 they worked with RePollinate to plant a wildflower garden in the hospital’s Oncology Courtyard.

Jim Jeffrey, NatureScot pollinator strategy manager, said: “Communities are taking action to help Scotland’s pollinators. We’re incredibly impressed by their sustained efforts to transform their local spaces into places where bees, moths and hoverflies can thrive.

“We’d love more people to get involved in helping to monitor pollinators. The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme helps us gather the evidence we need to better understand pollinators. Our website has all the details on how to take part.”