At a time when ecological anxiety is high, and many are overwhelmed with an associated
feeling of helplessness, the role of environmental organisations is imperative for restoring a
sense of hope from the ground up. At PlantingSeeds, we see the necessity to consider all aspects of environmental revival, and the much-overlooked role of pollinators is our focus for restoring biodiversity and rebuilding hope for the future.
Through our highly successful B&B Highway, we’ve truly made it possible for everyone in their communities to plant the seeds for a more ecologically sustainable life ahead. With over 220 locations across New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria (and with South Australia soon to join), we’re proud of the concrete difference we’ve made, creating numerous corridors of interconnected biodiversity projects for communities across the country.
Our own future is looking incredibly promising, in line with biodiversity research both internationally and here in Australia.
The power and contributions of small biodiverse spaces in comparison to larger connected areas of land has been determined by Canadian researchers, who found that several small patches of nature are often more vital for protecting biodiversity.
In a world where human urbanisation has fragmented natural areas into smaller patches, these otherwise isolated areas are now more valuable than ever, as they house thousands of native species in tiny hubs of biodiversity. Our B&B Highway is an invaluable way of connecting those hubs by revegetating the urban areas that separated them in the first place. These corridors are the links that ensure biodiversity survives, giving native pollinators the spaces to thrive with our support.
Researchers in Melbourne have further validated these findings through their own investigation of the small nature reserves across the Melbourne metropolitan area. In their survey of 68 reserves, they found that the smallest nine contained more unique native species than the largest three – despite being nearly 100 times smaller in area. The strengthening of biodiversity doesn’t have to end with these existing reserves. Our urban areas – our schools and community hubs – will be the connecting tissue to provide safe habitats and passages for pollinators.
PlantingSeeds is all about revegetating these urban areas, which would essentially make these
small reserves more and more prevalent across the country, with each installation brimming
with biodiversity of native plant-life and pollinators.
We’re incredibly pleased to be at the forefront of reinvigorating Australia’s unique biodiversity.
Our post-installation periodical check-ins of B&B Highway locations show concrete evidence
of biodiversity growth, as well as genuine engagement from our communities as they get to be a key part of the process. Research shows that real-world interactions with neighbourhoods and associated nature and wildlife are necessary to engage people with their natural surroundings; research that is evidenced by our own observations. We see the excitement of students and corporate participants when they witness insects and birds in their biodiversity quests, or when they watch as we open hives for native bees. That excitement is instrumental to preserving a passion for biodiversity conservation and ensures that the seeds that we plant will grow, blossom, and thrive.
References
Fahrig, L. (2019). Habitat fragmentation: a long and tangled tale. Global Ecology and
Biogeography, 28(1), 33-41. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12839
Fahrig, L. (2020). Why do several small patches hold more species than few large patches?
Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29(4), 615-628. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13059
Kendal, D., Zeeman, B., Ikin, K., Lunt, I. D., McDonnell, M. J., Farrar, A., Pearce, L. M., &
Morgan, J. W. (2017). The importance of small urban reserves for plant conservation.
Biological Conservation, 213, 146-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.07.007
Mumaw, L., & Bekessy, S. (2017). Wildlife gardening for collaborative public-private
biodiversity conservation. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management,
24(3), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2017.1309695
By UTS, BCII Student, Noah Lewis