A NEW scheme to help encourage more pollinators and bees into the town by creating a wildlife corridor, full of pollinator friendly plants and wildflowers, has been accepted by Westbury Town Council. Westbury and the surrounding villages have all signed up, and now volunteers are needed to ensure the longevity of the project.
Cllr Suzanne Wickham, a Wiltshire councillor representing Ethandune, approached Westbury Town Council last week to discuss setting up pollinator friendly areas in Westbury, after already getting the local parishes in Bratton, Dilton Marsh, Edington and Heywood to all sign up.
Pollinator friendly areas are spaces that improve or create nectar rich habitats that provide food and shelter for pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies.
Cllr Wickham says that involving local people is the key to the success of the scheme. She said, “Residents are encouraged to point out locations in town and the surrounding villages that could benefit from a pollinator friendly area and feed this info back to their respective council. The parish councils and Westbury Town Council will collate the areas picked by residents and they will then decide which areas to take forward.”
The area board of Wiltshire Council has agreed to pay for Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to go around each of the villages and Westbury itself to survey the areas, they will then write a report on the seeding and maintenance, so there is a clear guide for those that choose to take this forward. Seeding is expected to start closer to autumn.
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Cllr Wickham added, “The next step after this is finding people to volunteer to help maintain these areas. We don’t want people thinking that we will just throw some seeds down and watch some wildflowers grow in the next ten years; we will need help with planting and watering, with the eventual aim to cut back the areas once the seeds have set.
“We have the potential to create something that can last for years, but only if local people also get on board and help out with maintenance. Bees can travel up to three miles for food, so the idea is to create a flowering system that encourages as many pollinators as possible.”
Local residents from Westbury, Bratton, Dilton Marsh, Edington and Heywood can now approach their town/parish council to suggest areas they think would benefit from a pollinator friendly area. Following this, the town and parish councils will decide what areas they want to take forward for the scheme and liaise with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to organise planting.
