£150k boost for Cumbria's bees and other pollinators

The full-fibre broadband company, in an effort to boost environmental initiatives throughout the county, will support the trust's work with a donation of £150,000.

By 2025, thanks to co-operation with local communities and landowners, the partners anticipate to have aided in either creating or restoring 15 valuable sites for pollinators, guaranteeing their proper management and continuing status as wildlife havens.

The Kendal planting event saw 20 volunteers in attendance (Image: Fibrus)

During the two-year project, the Cumbria Wildlife Trust will also organise community planting days, provide native Cumbrian wildflower seeds to 1,500 recipients, and also offer pollinator identification and training sessions.

The project's first community planting day at Town View Fields in Kendal saw 20 volunteers participate in planting 1,200 plugs.

Volunteer Liz Wright, a local resident of 37 years, said: "We’re hoping to get a wildflower meadow and attract more insects into the area.

"It’s also a good way to get to know people in the area and a nice project for us to get involved with."

1,200 plugs were planted during the event (Image: Fibrus)

Rachel Bain, environmental and sustainability specialist for Fibrus, said: "At Fibrus, we take our responsibilities to the environment very seriously.

"By providing hyperfast broadband we are reducing commuting, enabling local enterprises to develop and thrive, increasing access to education and essential services, and driving sustainable changes in the way people connect, work, live and play."

Ms Bain says that Fibrus is committed to having environmental sustainability at the 'core of our business'.

She said: "We are excited to be supporting Cumbria Wildlife Trust with delivery of this pollinator project which will restore valuable habitats, improve the natural environment and help in the fight against climate change."

The partnership is set to benefit Cumbria's bees and other pollinators (Image: Fibrus)

With plans to invest £700 million, the company's objective is to extend full fibre broadband to remote UK towns and homes and businesses that need it the most.

Last year, as part of the Project Gigabit initiative, the UK government awarded a £108 million contract to Fibrus to aid as many as 60,000 rural properties in Cumbria gain access to lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband.

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Tanya St.Pierre, grassland and pollinator team manager at Cumbria Wildlife Trust said: "Flower-rich grasslands were once common.

"Over the last 50 years the UK has lost 97 per cent of lowland meadows, partly through agricultural intensification, and only one per cent of our upland hay meadows remain.

"Meadows are valued for the plants they support which in turn provide habitats for a range of animal species, including brown hare, moss carder bee, marsh fritillary butterfly, curlew and lapwing.

"Wildflower-rich grasslands are one of the best habitats for pollinators.

"They contain native plant species, which we know support a greater abundance and diversity of bees, butterflies and other pollinators, compared to non-native plants.

“Whatever the size and wherever the location, we love working with local communities and farmers in Cumbria, to create and restore wildflower-rich grasslands which directly help the pollinating species that depend on them."