The Really Wild Show and Autumnwatch star is to visit Beechwood, Stirling to look at the work being done by local environmental project On The Verge to help the city’s bee population.
On The Verge works with Stirling Council to help schools and community groups sow areas of native wildflowers around Stirlingshire to address the UK-wide problem of bees being at risk of extinction because of the loss of floral resources.
Nature expert Packham will be at Beechwood on Saturday July 14 as part of a whirlwind 10-day tour of 50 wildlife sites across Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales.
Packham is spearheading a Bioblitz scientific study to help measure the numbers of different wildlife species across Britain.
Packham said: “I’m looking forward to seeing the important work being done by On The Verge at Beechwood, in Stirling.
“I want the 2018 UK Bioblitz Campaign to be a detailed and complete wildlife audit – a ten day snapshot of the state of our wild places and what lives there.
“It will celebrate some conservation successes like On The Verge but will also reveal some of its failures.
“It will show that nature reserves are not enough and it will prove that we need a healthier wider environment. A healthier countryside.”
He added: “The UK is home to remarkable and beautiful wildlife and some wonderful habitats but it’s also in big trouble.
“In the case of some species this means we are fast approaching the last chance to make a difference.”
Packham’s Bioblitz tour starts on July 14 – with the award-winning On The Verge wildflower project at Beechwood the final of five first-day stops in Scotland.
On The Verge founder Leigh Biagi is thrilled to get high-profile Packham’s celebrity support.
She said: “Chris Packham knows that by spearheading Bioblitz he is bringing attention to small organisations such as ourselves and we are so grateful for that support.
“Anything that can shine a light on the work we are doing and encourage the public to get involved and help is important. This is tremendous recognition.”
Volunteer group On The Verge was launched in 2010 and offers free seed to help local community groups sow areas of wildflowers while collating valuable data for wildflower research projects.
It has worked with around 90 organisations to sow a total of 7513m² of native wildflowers in and around Stirling and Clackmannanshire.
Leigh explained: “One of the biggest issues we have is that people like the idea of flowers, they like the idea of the bees, but as soon as something looks a bit messy in a town, people get a bit upset about that.
“We need to change that attitude and mindset of expecting everything to be neat and tidy and highly managed. Nature isn’t about having everything in straight rows with bedding flowers which are ecologically sterile and offer nothing to pollinators.
“We need to try to help shift attitudes and get the wider public to be more accepting of a bit of a mess here or there because the greater good is how that helps our nature flourish.”
And she added: “Stirling Council have been a great support in what we’re doing.
“Usually, we identify a site and ask ‘Is it alright if we sow there?’ and they’ve got a fast-track way now to give us permission so they have been great at facilitating our work.
“The backing we’ve had from Stirling Council has been crucial in enabling us to sow as many wildflowers as we have.”
Guy Harewood, Sustainable Development Project Officer for Stirling Council said: “We are delighted Chris Packham is to visit Stirling to see first-hand some of the important work that is being done locally with the support of Stirling Council.
“It is important we support groups like On The Verge as the UK has lost over 95 per cent of its wildflower meadows since World War II. This means that our pollinators are starving to death.
“This project is creating very valuable wildflower rich habitats that help feed our pollinators and provide residents and visitors with eye-catching areas of wildflowers.”
Photo by @PennyDixie