The Welsh Harp Bee Garden

We had a problem. A small patch of the Welsh Harp had become a playground for rats and pigeons. And people weren't happy about it. It was the by-product of feeding bread to birds, and the dumping of all manner of food (including spaghetti, rice, meat, and kidney beans!).

Even worse, this was and is at a prominent location - with arguably the greatest footfall at the Welsh Harp. What message was it sending?

So we asked ourselves, what if we could discourage the rats, make the site look beautiful, as well as create insect habitats, improve biodiversity, and engage the public?

What we came up with, was to create a bee garden. We teamed up with wildlife gardener Benny Hawksbee, launched a crowdfund, and got to work.

In November 2022 volunteers aerated the compacted soil and removed the plastic mesh buried deep within.

In January 2023 volunteers coppiced the ash trees (helped out by our friends at the Pheonix Canoe Club and the Welsh Harp Sailing Club), thus removing the pigeon's perch. We also created insect habitats with leftover organic materials, and planted native flowers. They all died.

In February we did a bit more planting. But nothing was growing. And people continued to dump food.

In March we created the bee bank (using, in part, waste material from a nearby construction site and sand donated by Barratts).

From March through to May we did more planting (this time choosing bigger plants for maximum impact), adding a bit of compost, and a lot of mulch and sand.

Finally, success!

By July 2023, our original vision was complete:

A sloping bee bank provides a habitat for wild mining bees, solitary wasps, and beneficial flies. Log piles of dead and decaying wood provides vital habitat for a range of wildlife. Native plants such as Knapweeds, Wild Carrot, Field Scabious, Chicory, Musk Mallow, and Weld provide ground coverage and floral interest, whilst some Common Gorse provides native shrubbery. Nature signage explains what this all means. The dead patch of land has been transformed into a thriving home for insects, birds, and small mammals. People young and old stop to admire the habitat. Something inside them feels just a little bit better.

Thank you to everyone who donated their time, money, and well wishes.