National Marine Aquarium re-landscapes garden to keep bees buzzing

The National Marine Aquarium is working with a local community group to turn an unloved space into a buzzing native coastal habitat for Britain’s solitary bees.

‘Bee by the Sea’ is part of Grow Wild -  supported by the Big Lottery Fund and led by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Grow Wild inspires communities and individuals from all across the UK to transform unloved spaces for nature by sowing, growing and enjoying UK native wild flowers.

The garden will use soft cliff for burrowing bees, growing native shrubs for wind protection and developing a wildflower meadow as a food source.

Visitors to the National Marine Aquarium will be able to visit, explore and picnic in the coastal habitat, while those walking the coastal path will be able to see the garden transform over the coming months.

Dr David Gibson, Managing Director from the National Marine Aquarium commented: “We’re delighted to be running this project alongside Grow Wild. It may seem unusual for bees to live to so close to the sea, but for this particular species, the coast is their natural habitat so the Aquarium garden is the perfect spot for them to flourish. We hope the project is a great success and we’ll be seeing lots of our native bees buzzing around the garden soon.”

Gay Coley, Director of Public Programmes for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew added:  “As well as helping our wild flowers to flourish and bring life to unloved spaces, Let’s Grow Wild is about people re-connecting with the natural world. It’s about discovering and enjoying the beauty of our wild flowers and re-engaging with the spaces, places and people around us.”

The Aquarium is looking for volunteers to help with pruning, clearing, planting and bug-hotel building.

Click here to find out how to get involved and help secure the future of Britain’s buzzy bees.