Look after plants and they will look after you

MOST people know by now that being outside in nature or working in our own gardens is good for our wellbeing.

Greener Henley’s wildlife working group meets twice a month on a Wednesday morning to carry out maintenance work at various green spaces in Henley. This might be cutting back brambles, raking up the long grass from flower meadows after it has been cut or getting rid of invasive species such as Himalayan balsam.

I don’t manage to get to the working group each month but, when I do, I tend to take a walk along the Marsh Meadows tree line with a black sack and a litter picker. It is amazing the variety and quantity of rubbish you can find there.

I really enjoy being out in the open doing something useful. It is also an opportunity to observe closely flora and fauna.

It is very satisfying filling up bags with rubbish (including glass and microplastics from food wrappers) knowing at least they won’t endanger wildlife or get into the food chain.

If you have an hour or two to spare on the first and fourth Wednesday morning of the month, why not spend it doing some good for yourself and for nature with the friendly wildlife working group? For more information, visit greenerhenley.org.uk

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WE were busy last month organising the science fair for schools at The Henley College.

This was our second fair involving 16 different schools in the area and about 130 students aged from seven to 18.

We devised a circuit of activities based on pollution that the senior students led for the younger children to do.

Researching for the appropriate activities I learnt a great deal myself and thought I might pass on some facts about bees and pollution here. (With thanks to Dr James Ryalls, of Reading University, who shared some of his research.)

l Air pollution ruins the scents that bumblebees use to find flowers. A bumble can only see a flower when they are 30cm away and rely on scents of flowers to find pollen and nectar.

l Microplastic fibres in the air that settle on flowers get picked up by bees when they land on them. Bees are covered in sticky hairs for collecting pollen, but they also pick up the microplastic fibres. Bees in cities contain up to 50 per cent more microplastic than bees in rural areas.

l Bees can pick up pollutants such as plastic microfibres from drinking water in ponds or puddles. These can seriously damage their organs and change their behaviour patterns.

l Pollution from fires can clog up bees’ antennae making it difficult for them to navigate.

l Chemicals sprayed in the air or on the ground are poisonous to bees and will kill them.

l Like many living creatures, bees have developed complex behaviour related to natural light patterns. Artificial light at night (ALAN) interrupts their natural rhythm and keeps them awake longer. This means they don’t manage to collect as much pollen the next day.

l The University of Edinburgh found that bumblebees exposed to ALAN produced fewer queens. Bumblebee queens are the only individual in a colony that survive the winter to establish a new colony.

And we think we have it bad! If you haven’t done it already, please could you think about how you could make your outdoor space more bee-friendly?

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ON a brighter note, a recent study by the University of Surrey on the best trees to grow to reduce particulate matter in the air showed that three native trees came up well.

When placed in a wind tunnel silver birch, elder and yew came up with the best results. They have small hairs on the backs of their leaves that pick up the particulate matter in the air, which gets washed away when it rains.

Although the silver birch got the best result with 79 per cent collection, they are deciduous and would not work during the winter months. In that case, yew would be better, but consideration should be given to their berries that are poisonous for children and animals.

Another study put tree hedges known as “tredges” around children’s playgrounds in urban cities. These taller, denser green walls are very efficient barriers for keeping the air quality in playgrounds clean. Red cedar proved to be the most effective remover of particulate matter.

Did you know the YMCA are looking for volunteer gardeners of all capabilities to boost the YMCA Gardening Club numbers? They meet on the first Thursday of the month to garden in the YMCA grounds, led by Jane from the Flower Union to encourage residents to get outside and learn some transferable gardening skills.

If you are interested in supporting this relaxed group, whether you are an experienced gardener or not, email louise@henleyymca.org.uk

While we are talking about gardeners Greener Henley are in the process of re-invigorating Nature Squared, the project we are running alongside the Henley Standard and Henley Town Council.

Our vision is to have 5,000 sq m of wildflower habitat dotted around Henley and environs by 2030.

Many of you have already planted native wildflower seeds, but to dramatically increase the habitat providing food and shelter for native insects, reptiles, birds and small mammals, we are revamping the Nature Squared programme. Planting seeds is great but what we have found is that the annuals will come up in the first year but some perennials will not flower until the following year. We suggest putting in spring bulbs and some suitable plants as a supplement while waiting for your seeds to flower.

So, if you have a small patch in your garden you could use, or a scrap of land adjoining your place of work, why not try turning it into a larder for our native pollinators?

Watch out for announcements about this in the Henley Standard and on Greener Henley’s website. Let us know what you have done and what comes up. We’d really like to hear some of your success stories and know what your flowers are attracting.

In the meantime, I would be interested in hearing from anyone who would like to work with us as “plant parents” or “plant fosterers”. This is so we can swap and demonstrate suitable plants that we know are good for pollinators. Email greenerhenley@gmail.com if you would like to help.

Finally, Greener Henley is serious about helping Henley to become safer as we have extreme weather. The good news is we have managed to book the “Flood Mobile” for our Big Green Festival on Saturday, June 6.

According to the Environment Agency, around 4.6 million properties in England are at risk of surface water flooding. Three times as many properties are a high risk of flooding from surface water than from rivers and seas.

Inside the Flood Mobile there are examples of property flood resilience measures that you can install in your property — non-return valves, pumps and airbricks, flood doors and flood barriers. If you visit it, you will be able to see, touch and understand practical measures that better protect homes and businesses.

Put the date in your diary and be sure to visit. If you can’t wait, look online for Flood Mary.