Question for you, @thebeeguy . Do you think #BeeBricks for #SolitaryBees are a good idea or a bad idea?

@MaQuest "Making space for nature

We will be installing 28 bee bricks and 28 swift bricks at the new Brickfields scheme to help conserve and enhance biodiversity, protecting it from the impacts of development.

Bee bricks can be used in place of standard bricks in construction to provide some much-needed nesting and hibernation space for solitary bee species such as the red mason and leafcutter.

Solitary bees are essential for pollinating a significant portion of our food crops and wildflowers. They do not produce honey, are non-aggressive, don't live in hives and don't swarm.

Swift bricks provide valuable nesting space for these fast-flying birds. Between 1995 and 2021 swift populations fell by 62% in the UK, partly due to the loss of suitable nesting sites.

These bee and swift bricks will be installed adjacent to landscape planting that provides a good quality foraging habitat, which includes biodiverse green roofs.

To further support the local ecosystem, the landscaping on site will include native planting as well as integrate trellises and climbing plants on the building's walls."

#SolarPunkSunday #BuildingForPollinators #SwiftBricks #BeeBricks

8 bee bricks, bee hives and bee hotels to buy right now

And we've rounded up the very best for your garden. Help save Britain's endangered bees at Countryliving.com/uk.

Country Living

#BeeBricks become planning requirement for new buildings in Brighton

Amy Frearson | 24 January 2022

"A planning law introduced in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, calls for new buildings to include special bricks that provide nests for solitary bees.

"Brighton & Hove Council's policy stipulates that all new buildings above five metres should include bee bricks, as well as #BirdNesting boxes suitable for swifts.

"These bee bricks are the same size as regular bricks, but integrate a series of narrow openings like those where solitary bees are known to nest.

"The aim is to increase opportunities for #biodiversity. With solitary bees making up nearly 250 of the approximately 270 bee species in #Britain, they play an important role in the natural #ecosystem.

" 'Bee bricks are just one of quite a number of measures that really should be in place to address biodiversity concerns that have arisen through years of neglect of the natural environment,' said Robert Nemeth, the councillor behind the initiative.

" 'Increased planting, hedgehog holes, swift boxes and bird feeders are all examples of other cheap and simple ideas that, together, could lead to easy medium-term gains,' he told Dezeen."

Read more:
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/01/24/bee-bricks-planning-requirement-brighton/

#SolarPunkSunday #BuildingForPollinators #Biodiversity

Bee bricks become planning requirement for new buildings in Brighton

A planning law introduced in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, calls for new buildings to include special bricks that provide nests for solitary bees.

Dezeen