Council appealing for help to save bees in Burnley and Padiham

Sean Kerr, Pat Smith and Towneley Park ranger Graham want to create a buzz around bees and have offered advice on creating bee-friendly gardens.

It has saved around Â£60,000 per year but faced backlash from people who prefer traditional park settings.

An interactive bee trail, which teaches people about these vital pollinators using a mobile phone app, was also launched at a Meadow Celebration Festival at Padiham Greenway on Saturday, September 15th. The council hopes to create a buzz around bees, which help to generate approximately Â£400m for the economy by pollinating 90% of our food.

Sean Kerr, parks development officer of the council’s green spaces and amenities department, said: “We have to act now. We can't brush the issue under the carpet and forget about it.”

Team Perham, a teenage voluntary group, has been raising awareness of the falling bee population on Instagram.

Wildflowers have been planted along Padiham Greenway using Â£4000 in funding from charity Grow Wild. They will provide protective habitat from Pendle Street to the memorial park entrance. There are currently 35 species under threat, following the loss of around 97% of the UK’s wildflower meadows since 1947.

“We have to take special care of the environment or future generations might suffer,” Sean added.

“Education is key. People need to talk about it - that's the legacy we're hoping to leave.”

Offshoots, an award-winning environmental group, has designed a conservation garden at Towneley Park with man-made hives, seasonal plants and backyard demonstrations.

You can help protect bees by selecting seasonal plants for your garden which provide pollen, nectar and habitation throughout the year.

Pat Smith, Offshoots officer, said: “Children love it. You tell them about bees and they’re buzzing with excitement.”

Team Perham, a teenage voluntary group, has supported Offshoots with a town-centre campaign in August while the council took school pupils on a two-day wildlife survey of Burnley’s Thompson Park.

Now the council is calling for volunteers to help save our woodlands from neglect.

For, as Pat added: "If we lost all our bees, our lives would look fragile and the future would be a scary place.

Sean Kerr leading a mini beast hunt along the Padiham Greenway.

"We've already lost some species, so the fight to save the rest is urgent. It's up to every one of us to help protect them.

"We have some answers - but what we need now is action."

To find out about voluntary opportunities, send an email to [email protected] or call Green Spaces on 01282 425011.