l-r: Cllr Mick Debenham, local resident Abbie, Neil Fairey - Royston Greenspace Officer & Cllr Steve Jarvis
Thanks to a local student, there’s even more wildflower beds around the district, with around half a dozen new patches currently looking gorgeous in Royston.
Abbie Robinson, who’s studying Environmental Science at university, contacted the council to see if we could introduce more patches of wildflowers in Royston to help support bees and other pollinators, which are in drastic decline, while also brightening up the local landscape.
Abbie said: “I proposed this to the council following my interest in the environment and what I have been learning during my university course – we really need to help our local bees. I identified a few areas that I felt would lend themselves to wildflower planting and the council have been extremely helpful and worked with me to bring my proposal into reality. There are now multiple wildflower patches in the town for people to enjoy!”
Cllr Steve Jarvis, Executive Member for Environment and Leisure, said: “Improving biodiversity and supporting wildlife is already a key part of the council’s greenspace strategy with climate change threatening our local environment. We had a number of wilding sites in Hitchin, Letchworth and Baldock so it was a great opportunity to work with Abbie to see where in Royston we could plant wildflowers to provide much needed habitat for bees and other pollinators.”
Abbie added: “The flowers add a bright pop of colour and hopefully will make people smile. I’ve already received a great response from residents so far, with many comments and photos on our Royston community Facebook page. It is really lovely to see the work being appreciated, and I hope this is a project we can make bigger in the future!”
Wildflower beds have been implemented by our grounds maintenance contractor John O’Conner at Housman Avenue, Maltings Close, Coombelands, The Warren, Shepherd Close and Newmarket Road / Icknield Walk, all in Royston.
The wildflowers at Housman Avenue pictured is ‘Euroflor Sarah Bouquet’ from Rigby Taylor, a fail-safe mix achieving maximum biodiversity while avoiding a dominance of bright colours. Flowers include China Aster, Cornflower, Sunflower, Strawflower, Sweet Alyssum, Dwarf Lupin and Gloriosa Daisy.
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