The Scheme

The nectar point network is part of a scheme, called ‘Dwelling with Nature’, which was an outcome of a LIFE Environment programme funded by the European Community at the turn of the last century.  It involved a partnership between the Conservation Management System Consortium, the University of  Ulster and the National Museum of Wales with the objective of mobilising people of diverse ages and backgrounds to manage the biodiversity of their urban wildlife. A significant outcome in Wales was the creation of a network of 'one square miles' where insect populations were boosted through the creation of clusters of nectar points.  

This idea of a nectar point network takes the view that community-based conservation is typically a grassroots effort initiated because of specific concerns about an environmental or natural resource issue. This bottom-up conservation works well, because, in part, it is a collaborative process building on the caring relationships local activists already have with their green infrastructure such as trees, parks and gardens.  A nectar point is a planned location or plot that has been augmented with plants that are prolific in producing nectar for feeding insects. A plot could be a piece of ground, a raised bed or a container situated, for example, in a garden, park, school ground, shop front, waste land, roadside verge or roundabout The starting point is a ‘growers-hub’; a group of local activists who can use their skills of growing garden plants to support families and neighbours who wish to participate in the scheme.

The network focuses families, schools, businesses, academic institutions and others to a common purpose of enhancing and sustaining local biodiversity and change the perception and experience of what is valuable in their urban surroundings. It has incentives for behaviour change including rewards, such as best street, best young grower, best school /business contributor, best level of participation, best action plan etc. The aim is also stimulate community and citizen participation in neighbourhood betterment through time banking.  There will also be a strong element of citizen science to communicate know-how and ideas about how to carry out the plantings and assess their impact on wildlife. This is not a project concerned with rare species, but with enhancing the wildlife of gardens and streets that is limited by the availability of plant nectar.

  Background

The European Community LIFE (Financial Instrument for the Environment) scheme (1998) provided funds to support the development and implementation of community environmental policy. LIFE-Environment demonstration projects are designed to promote sustainable development in industrial activities.

Biodiversity Action on Industrial Sites BAIS) was a LIFE-Environment project managed by a partnership between the University of Ulster, the Conservation Management System Consortium and the National Museum of Wales.  The aim was to demonstrate how industries can contribute to urban wildlife conservation both by using its own sites and also working with the adjacent community to increase the biodiversity of parks, gardens and green spaces.

The project used a computer-mediated conservation management system (CMS) to generate biodiversity management plans, record actions and monitor their effectiveness.

The idea of a Nectar Point Network (NPN) emerged from the Pembroke Texaco Oil Refinery’s successful collaborative programme with its surrounding community.  It began with the discovery in the refinery's tank farm  of one of the largest Welsh colonies of Bee Orchids.  The NPN is now a demonstration of the ‘CMS for communities’ programme of the Conservation Management System Consortium; an exemplar for individuals and groups that wish to initiate biodiversity action plans in gardens and neighbourhoods.

Cardiff's nectar point network developed from the Bute Town 'One Square Mile' web site which was sponsored through ‘Visiting Arts to inspire people to explore the cultural and ecological diversity of ButeTown through artistic engagement. 'One Square Mile' demonstrated the wider aspects of public involvement with ‘place’ that a nectar point network could stimulate, particularly if it was to be based on communication via social media.