City of London Corporation funds Pollinating London Together

The City of London Corporation has awarded Pollinating London Together (PLT) a £230,000 grant to help create biodiversity corridors across the City of London, providing pollinators with connected green spaces routes across Greater London.

PLT is a pan-Livery initiative that is raising awareness of the importance of biodiversity and pollinators and their substantial recent decline.

The initiative was first initiated in 2019 by the Wax Chandlers and Gardeners, and now with a vibrant membership across the Livery Company community.

Lord Mayor of the City of London Vincent Keaveny said: “Across the world, there is a growing awareness of the importance of halting the decline of pollinators by providing them with the habitats they need to thrive and which support so much of our wildlife.

“This Pollinating London Together project, which will see many City organisations working together, will have the twin benefits of increasing the biodiversity of the Square Mile and making our open spaces even more attractive for residents, workers and visitors to enjoy.”

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PLT’s purpose is to create green spaces in the City of London and its immediate environs where all natural pollinators can thrive, and their habitats can be enjoyed by everyone.

The recognition that pollinator and other insect numbers are declining across northwest Europe has brought the need for ‘more, bigger, better, joined up, diverse and high-quality flower rich habitats (including nesting and shelter) supporting our pollinators across the country’ (UK National Pollinator Strategy 2014) into sharp focus.

Urban gardens play a vital role in providing pollinators with food; the diverse planting found in gardens provide a wide range of nectar and food sources, supporting larger numbers and a wider variety of pollinators.

Although the City contains many beautiful green spaces, wild pollinators need more help to return to healthy population numbers and restore balance in ecological biodiversity.

Pollinating London Together performs a variety of activities: audits of existing City green spaces in terms of flora and pollinator habitats; creating a baseline of insect and pollinator counting as part of building a citizen science database; advice and practical assistance to owners of existing City green spaces; and a variety of awareness raising campaigns with schools and through art exhibitions.

Featured image by Alex Hirtzel

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