Fibrus funded project fights to save our wildflower meadows

A project led by Cumbria Wildlife Trust and funded by​ Fibrus has helped to turn ​around the decline in our wildflower meadows, with ​people across ​the county​ planting thousands of insect-friendly wildflowers.

The initiative called Get Cumbria Buzzing Not Buffering has created​ 15 wildflower sites, working with local councils and landowners​ across West Cumbria, the Lakes, Eden, Brampton​ and Barrow over​ the past three years. It was funded by Fibrus, which contributed £150,000, and run by ​the trust.

“It has been a fantastic project,” said Tanya St Pierre, Cumbria​ Wildlife Trust’s grassland and pollinator team manager. “It has​ enabled us to work with communities and work​ towards our goal of​ reversing the decline in our native pollinators.”

Success is already ​visible across the county, with increased ​​numbers of the rare small blue butterfly in West Cumbria. Locals at​ Town View in Kendal were treated to a​ plethora of rarer meadow​ flowers for the first time last summer.

During the project, hundreds of people planted more than 15,000 plugs,​ or young wildflower plants. More than 3,800 bulbs were planted and​ over 50kg of Cumbrian wildflower seed was scattered at the 15​ sites.

Two thousand packets of Cumbrian wildflower seed were​ handed out. Fibrus staff got their hands dirty too helping to plant​ wildflowers at community planting days at Brampton, Lowther,​ Croftlands in Ulverston and Whitehaven.

“Over the last 50 years the UK has lost 97 per cent of lowland​ meadows and only one per cent of our upland hay meadows remain,”​ said Tanya.

UK butterfly populations are down by more than 50 per​ cent since 1976, and other insects like moths, ground beetles, wild​ bees and hoverflies have seen significant declines.

The causes include use of pesticides and intensive farming which was​ encouraged by government following World War Two. That led to the loss of the flower-rich habitats our ​insects depend on. ​I​n turn we rely on​ insects to pollinate most of our crops.

“We have around 270 species of wild bees in the UK and 13 have​ gone extinct since 1900,” said Tanya. “Roughly a third of the remaining wild bee species are in decline with 35​ species at risk o​f extinction.

“Without the wild pollinators we wouldn’t have many of the foods​ and fruits we eat.”

This investment from Fibrus, forms part of Project Gigabit, the UK government’s programme to enable hard-to-reach communities across the country to access fast, reliable gigabit-capable broadband.

Colin Hutchinson, Managing Director at Fibrus, said:

Wildflower​ meadows and the insects, birds and animals they support are a natural treasure we must work together to protect. We are delighted to have​ helped create these 15 wildflower sites, amounting to just over three​ hectares of this endangered habitat.

Stephen Trotter, CEO of Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said:​

It’s fundamental we ensure that pollinators don’t decline any further.​ They provide the food that we eat, and they help to provide the​ healthy ecosystems that make this planet function.

Projects like​ this, and support from partners like Fibrus, help us to connect with​ communities, and show a way to build a better future. We thank​ Fibrus for its commitment over the past three years.