Community groups champion efforts to save Scotland’s pollinators - NatureScot

Communities across Scotland 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 our biodiversity and play a critical role in our 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.

Jim Jeffrey, NatureScot Pollinator Strategy Manager, said: “Communities are taking action across the length and breadth of the country 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.”