Park award is the bee’s knees
Telford Town Park is celebrating as the bee's knees after winning a national award for an insect conservation project.
The park has won the Year of Green Action Bees' Needs Champion Award among 33 other successful applicants.
Awarded by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, the scheme involves the successful implementation of the park's own bee hive.
The project began several years ago and over time teams have worked to develop stocks of early flowering shrubs, perennials and bulbs alongside other seasonal planting.
In 2018, the park's team began to work alongside Alison Wakeman, of Alison's Bee Class, to educate staff, volunteers and visitors about the buzz surrounding the black and yellow pollinator.
The main aim of Telford Town Park Bee Project is to increase understanding of the importance of pollinators at the park and within the wider environment, with an end goal of producing the park's very own honey.
Councillor Carolyn Healy, cabinet member for visitor economy said: “What a wonderful achievement for Telford Town Park and the team.
"We are committed to enhancing biodiversity in our green spaces throughout the borough and continue to develop even more of these initiatives.
“A big thank you to the team at Telford Town Park, Alison and the Friends of Telford Town Park who help to look after the bees.”
The project also contributes towards the park’s wider sustainable objectives. The first installation of the bee hive in spring 2019 was the beginning to a year of improvements.
This year has also seen Telford Town Park invest in an electric park gator and electric gardening tools instead of the traditional petrol and diesel options.
