Theatre to plant up courtyard for pollinators

MORE than 140 sq m of wildflower seeds have been planted in and around Henley as part of a campaign to support pollinators and wildlife.

Nature2 is a joint initiative between Greener Henley, Henley in Bloom and the Henley Standard set up last autumn.

It encourages residents to plant up a 1m2 patch with seeds, provided free, to help pollinators and collectively boost nature in the town.

Residents, community groups, businesses and schools have all taken part.

Staff and volunteers at the Kenton Theatre will be planting seeds in their private courtyard area.

Helen Morris, who is the project co-ordinator for the New Street venue, said they are trying to make their space as biodiverse as possible.

She said: “We have cleared a bit of the area as there was a lot of mallow plants which would have dominated and not given the wildflowers that much of a chance.

“There were also other things in the soil that we have removed that, if left, can take over. So we did all that so it can be ready for the wildflowers to be planted.

“I also use an amazing app that helps me identify weeds so we can look at those as well.”

Ms Morris said that she is working on developing an environment policy for the theatre, which will include improving its recycling and reducing energy use, where possible.

She said: “We are all part of nature and we are all connected to it and so it’s good to be able to support the Nature2 campaign. It’s good to try and connect corridors of wildflowers which are good for pollinators.

“When we do get to do some more planting, probably when I get some more pots in the courtyard, we’ll be looking to plant
pollinator-friendly plants where we can, just to encourage nature and support it.”

Diana Barnett, a member of Greener Henley, said that she believes many more wildflower seeds have been planted than records show.

She said: “Not everybody has registered and I would encourage all those who have taken part to, so we know how close we are to our target of 500 sq m for the town and so we know where these flowers are being put in.

“Now is the ideal time to be planting them, so people should scatter them now. There’s no need to feed them because wildflowers grow naturally without any man’s help really.”

She said that those who planted last year should chop their flowers down to about 15cm and then wait a week for the seeds to drop before sowing seeds again.

The wildflower packets, which are available from the information centre at the town hall, include a mixture of native seeds that can be found in meadows.