Friends of Tregoniggie Woodland

Supported by Buglife Urban Buzz Project, the Friends of Tregoniggie Woodland planted 2,000 snakes head fritillary bulbs, and 800 plug plants including ragged robin, primrose, cowslip, agrimony, hedge woundwort, foxglove and red campion.

“Many people know about the decline in exotic species like tigers and turtles, but smaller animals often get less attention” said Friends chairman Euan McPhee.

“Bees, butterflies and all sorts of other insects are just as vulnerable and need help. In the UK, the decline in wildflower-rich meadows means many insect populations have plummeted over the last few decades. By planting these wildflowers, we hope to provide more food plants for insects and help reverse that decline.”

Buglife is the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates.

There are more than 40,000 invertebrate species in the UK, and many of these are under threat as never before. Buglife is working in partnership with The Eden Project, Cornwall Council, and Falmouth Town Council and is supported by Biffa Award.

“An important part of Urban Buzz is getting the community involved in helping pollinating insects, and it was fantastic to be able to spend Saturday planting bulbs and plug plants with the friends of Tregoniggie Woods,” said Buglife’s Cornwall coordinator, Laura Larkin.

“We planted several different species of flowering plant which will flower at different times of the year and will not only improve the woods for our precious pollinators, but also create new patches of colour for people too.”

Local residents can now look forward to a real wildflower show next spring, and hopefully will see more bees and butterflies throughout the spring and summer.

Euan added: “There is already a nice patch of snakes head fritillaries in the wood, but it is really quite small. Next spring and summer, the woodland should be full of colour and the merry buzz of insects.”