A recent article in the Guardian reports that allotments, weedy corners and fancy gardens are all urban havens for bees and other pollinators, a study has found.

Allotments are particularly good places for pollinators because they provide a mix of fruit and vegetable flowers, plus weedy corners full of native plants. “Allotments are incredibly important at a city level, despite their small area,” said Katherine Baldock at the University of Bristol, who led the research. “They are a good place for pollinators to hang out and provide a win-win situation, as they are also good for food growing and for people’s health.”

The research, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, found allotments often had 10 times more bees than parks, cemeteries and urban nature reserves.

Read the full article here.

City bees: allotments and gardens can help arrest decline