As reported some months ago in Urban Buzz Bee Bank the Friends and contractor Don had started a bee bank. Having given it a few months of monitoring and time to settle we set out to complete the design.

With Don again were Mark, Pete, Judi and Mick to pull off some pieces of retaining wood, that were hopefully no long necessary, create a box on the top to hold the gravel for the green roof, and sink a substantial pond liner in front for the custom watering hole. We also used some sand and cement to patch where the face had dropped a little after the shuttering was removed, perhaps too early.

The box was created and then a total of fifteen bags of gravel tipped into the box. While we put down the liner Don had gone to buy an extra ten bags of gravel as the five we’d originally estimate had little effect over the large surface.

Judi also planted some tansy and hedge woundwort to provide food in the future. More planting will be done in the Spring or as we get chance. There are lots of pollen sources in the nearby hedge, along with the Cornfield Grassland that has just had additional seed thrown down, and the Cornfield flower strip.

Many thanks to Don and the volunteers, along with Andrew Cutts and Urban Buzz for their financial and moral support.