The Community Pollinator Project at Pretoria Road Allotments funded through a grant of £31,500 from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is progressing towards the polytunnel building stage with groundworks completed for new habitat areas.
Through August, the team at Pretoria Road Allotment Society have brought in the big tractors now have drainage channels dug, and both the bog garden and the pond dug out. The bog garden has been lined with reused plastic to help retain water and has been refilled with earth.
The excess earth has been used to raise all the paths to the correct depth ready for the final pathing materials to be added. The foundation areas for the two polytunnels are now prepared and levelled ready for the installation later in September.
The project is extending the allotments to include two polytunnels, new plots, no-dig beds, a new pond, orchard, wildflower area and increased habitats and biodiversity.
Mayor of Patchway Cllr Dayley Lawrence said, ‘It is fantastic to see the progress of this project as it builds towards the build stage of the polytunnels, the pond and the bog garden. We are really excited about the next stages and hugely appreciative of the grant funding from the West of England Combined Authority’.
Patchway Town Council is working in partnership with Pretoria Road Allotment Society on this exciting project that will include facilities and capacity for community and educational use to increase awareness of food growing, as well as how to create and nurture diverse wildlife habitats for pollinators.
The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority’s Community Pollinator Fund is contributing to tackling the climate and ecological emergencies by providing £1 million to promote and fund community-led projects that enhance biodiversity and pollinator habitats across the region, and empower and engage communities to take action.
For more information visit https://www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/bee-and-pollinator-capital/community-pollinator-fund/.
2 September 2024
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