Will new Greener Bus Stops help support Bees?

We were so encouraged to read reports of the installation of amazing “bee bus-stops” popping up cities around the world, just in time for “World Bee Day” on 20^th May. First seen in the Dutch city of Utrecht, there are now over 300 of these innovative bus shelters, and the even better news is that they are being considered in Auckland and Hamburg, but better still there are some being readied for installation on our very own doorstep in Cardiff. Which, if we needed another reason to use greener forms of public transport, has got to be a deal closer!

In their original form in Utrecht, hardy, drought-resistant wildflowers that pollinators love (like sedum plants) were successfully established on the roofs of 316 bus stops. The shelters are a massive win as they not only support declining pollinators such as honey bees, bumblebees and butterflies, but capture pollution to improve air quality, and soak up rainwater. So, with all these amazing benefits, we are watching closely to see how quickly these structures pop up across the world.

Excitingly, a Cardiff council spokesman said: “We will be introducing bee bus stops in the city centre, where wildflowers and plants will be planted on the roof of specific bus stops to attract insects and most importantly bees.” The “bee bus stops” are planned for just over 10 locations across Cardiff city centre and we are certainly hoping for wider adoption and public support.

Other locations such as Auckland and Hamburg still appear to be discussing the shelters with the primary concerns appearing to be that some passengers may be worried about being close to bees and that maintenance of these raised flower beds could be an issue. Hopefully further observations of the sites in The Netherlands and Wales will help alleviate these fears.

Of course, bus shelters don’t often figure highly in many development plans, but we have seen a similar principle used in projects and flat roofs around the world. But if these are successful, it does seem like a great way of accommodating pockets of improved biodiversity in cities and urban locations. Of course, wider adoption of this type of scheme leads to the question of what are the right mixes of native flowers to include on such structures?

Initiatives like the bee bus stop and World Bee Day are vital to raise awareness of the plight of declining pollinators. Amazingly, the UK, has around 270 species of bee, primarily solitary bees as well as the better known bumble bees and honey bees, but many people have no idea of this rich diversity we are in danger of losing. Many of these species have evolved as specialist pollinators more suited to open flat flowers or tubular flowers or the different shapes in between. This means that the decline of some of these specialist species has high impact on populations of the plants they live on.

Added publicity has meant more gardeners and planners are becoming aware that popular horticultural varieties of some flowers are selected cosmetically but may not have sufficient nectar and pollen to really boost pollinator populations. Ironically the wild flowers, which we often regard as weeds, have evolved to attract pollinators and are a rich source of food. Finding some spots in cities to accommodate these ‘weeds’ where they won’t get mown or sprayed could be a perfect solution helping bees and a wide range of native wild flowers.

The bee bus stop initiative has opened our eyes to some additional opportunities to provide patches of biodiversity, and we will continue to look at these innovative solutions with clients as well as recommending that projects incorporate native trees, shrubs and plants wherever possible.

If you want advice on how to improve the biodiversity around your developments, please do not hesitate to contact us; you never know, we might be waiting at one of Cardiff’s brand new bee stops when you call! For other similar articles, why not browse our site or click here.