Small gardens are as vital as larger green areas for conserving bees and other pollinators in UK cities, a Bristol study has found. The bee population is in rapid decline worldwide, with pesticides, drought, habitat destruction, air pollution and climate breakdown all contributing to the demise of their species.
A study at the University of Bristol has revealed the size of gardens in Bristol had little connection to the amount of nectar produced. "I surveyed 59 in total, which spanned everything from flower-rich oases to tiny concrete patios of just a short lawn," said Nicholas Tew, a PhD student at the University of Bristol. "Short-cut lawns are particularly bad when they are not allowed to flower (with 'weeds')."
The study analysed these gardens in Bristol each month from March to October to track the differences between how much food gardens produce for pollinators, and when nectar production peaks. Short mown gardens, hard surfaces and spraying weedkillers can all have negative effects on bees - and are all associated with our obsession with tidiness.
