The Ryde electorate is buzzing with the news that it will be a central location for the development of the B & B Highway, PlantingSeeds’ pollinator pathway across Sydney that features ‘B & Bs’ in public schools and other educational and community centres.
Supported by the NSW Department of Education, the B & B (Bed & Breakfasts for Bees, Birds, Butterflies & Biodiversity) Highway features pollinator habitat such as native stingless beehives and nesting boxes located in hubs across suburbs so our pollinators are offered rest and respite. Over 30 B & B’s have been implemented with many more planned.
Pollinators are endangered which has serious implications. One in three ‘bites’ of food are connected to pollination, insects are a vital part of the food chain and also help purify water and soil and pollinators are integral to biodiversity. Urban areas can help to counter the decline as they offer biodiversity hotspots.
An exciting part of the project is a citizen science app called Pollinator (P.I.) Private Investigator which school children will be using to contribute to valuable base-line data to assist biodiversity outcomes.
The B & B Highway in Ryde was the most popular project voted by Ryde electorate residents for the inaugural Service NSW My Community Project made possible the NSW My Generations Fund.
The initiative involves over 10 schools as recipients of B & B’s. Many of the habitats have already been established and many stingless beehives now house their important little Tetragonula Carbonaria! PlantingSeeds is steered by Dr Judy Friedlander who also researches sustainability issues at the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney.
PlantingSeeds and the NSW Department of Education is planning on using these habitats to help develop curriculum and to test the Pollinator P.I. app.
With recent school closures, our PS team has been able to continue installation and work to ensure the project is moving along so that the children can enjoy the benefits of the B & B Highway within their spaces. Sophia Kloosterman and Hannah Rohkamper have been digging and building like busy bees so we thought we’d ask for their tips on habitat sustainability and how vital aspects have been integrated into the Ryde spaces:
Water sustainability
Following the dry conditions we faced throughout the last summer, we have incorporated water efficient strategies to reduce vulnerability to drought. Where possible, we have built in wicking systems that create a reservoir beneath the plants so that the water can be stored underground until it is required by the plants. This avoids evaporation and dissipation of the water to its surrounds. For those who now have a wicking bed at their school, water is to be added through the inlet pipe (pictured below) until it starts coming out the overflow pipe. This does not have to be done very often, and beds can go up to about 4-5 weeks without being watered. The wicking beds have been provided by WaterUps from Down Under, a Sydney based company who have assisted the PlantingSeeds team throughout the project.
Hives
Each location will feature a native stingless beehive. These bees will not sting, but in rare circumstances can bite. Their bites do not cause anaphylaxis, and are no risk to those with allergies to stings. The Tetrugonula Carbonaria are small and black with an inquisitive nature that happily coexist with people. Native stingless bees generally do not come out of their hives below 18 degrees Celsius, and can die when temperatures exceed 35 degrees Celsius iso our team has utilised insulated hives with pitched roofs and careful positioning for protection. We are ensuring the plants we put in are providing food for the bees along wiht other pollinators year-round, and are including a range of native, edible, and perennial species.
Specific pollinator habitats
We are also working on increasing the amount and range of habitats found within the schools in order to accommodate for different species. Hollows, habitat boxes, mud/earth bricks and weathered wood all attract different species of birds, bees, bats, butterflies and other pollinators. This provides refuge and often reduces the distance the pollinators have to travel from their nest to food. When we think of bees, we often picture a beehive with lots of honey. However, 90% of bees are solitary, which means they nest in hollows of different materials.
If teachers and parents would like to do an activity with their kids, making mud/earth bricks would be a great one to do to increase their awareness of solitary bees and where they live. This link shows a great example of a rammed earth brick that is created using a clayey soil in besser blocks……. great for blue banded bees!!
Be sure to take a look through all the images in this gallery for before and after images of the habitats and we’ll be sure to update you again in the coming months as Ryde continues to bloom!