The towns of Carrigaline and Kinsale are amongst six Cork towns set to become brighter and more bee friendly with the anticipated roll-out of Cork County Council’s Pollinator Plans. These plans guide the Council’s management of publicly owned spaces within the towns, to ensure bees, and other insects that helpfully pollinate our flowering plants, are encouraged and supported.
Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey, commented, “Cork County Council is identifying and implementing new strategies for the management of public spaces in our towns, to promote biodiversity and provide food and habitats for our wild pollinator species, which are an essential component of a healthy environment. The Pollinator Plans are being led by a consultant ecologist and are inspired by the success of the first Town Pollinator Plan in the county, prepared by Cork County Council for Midleton in 2019. We hope to extend the project to include additional towns in the coming years.”
Pollinator Plans for Carrigaline, Kinsale, will see existing habitats of high value for pollinators identified and protected; the variety and extent of flowering plants available to pollinators increased, with less intensive approaches to management of grass cutting in our parks, roadside verges and other green spaces; new pollinator friendly planting proposals; and the creation of new nesting habitat for pollinators.
Funded by the National Biodiversity Action Plan fund and Cork County Council, and in collaboration with community groups in each of the six towns, pollinator friendly strategies will be developed in accordance with All-Ireland Pollinator Plan Guidelines.