Channel 5’s Dr Amir Khan urges public to become ‘Nature Doctors’ and build Insect A&Es
16 March 2020
Dr Amir Khan, star of Channel 5’s ‘GPs Behind Closed Doors’ and keen conservationist has joined forces with two leading UK wildlife charities to urge people to become ‘Nature Doctors’ in their own gardens by planting for pollinators this year.
Dr Khan is working alongside Bumblebee Conservation and Butterfly Conservation Trust to launch a new campaign asking people to set up their own ‘Insect A&E’ areas in their gardens for the benefit of the nation’s struggling pollinators. Places where these threatened but vitally important insects can rest, recuperate and rejuvenate.
According to a recent survey, 84% of UK adults are concerned about damage to the natural environment, and 56% about local biodiversity. Many are keen to take action to tackle these problems but need advice on which plants to grow in their own gardens to support our native biodiversity.
The good news is that this advice is now freely available and easily accessible in a handy, downloadable plant guide with information about how best to help butterflies, moths, and bumblebees across the UK.
www.butterfly-conservation.org/insectae
Dr Khan says:
“As a nature lover, I am delighted to join with these brilliant organisations in asking people to act now for wildlife. Simply by choosing some of these plants, people’s gardens can become a haven for pollinators, or even… a hospital they can recover in. Anyone can build an Insect A&E and help these amazing and precious creatures.
Plus being in nature has many tangible beneficial physical and mental effects so why not get out there, relax and reconnect with nature by planting your own Insect A&E? It’s so easy and it helps so much”
Butterflies, moths and bumblebees are an essential part of our eco-system. They are an important element of the food chain and are prey for birds, bats and other insectivorous animals. Their habitat is rapidly decreasing and their numbers are declining and so we must act now to help them rest, recuperate and rejuvenate in our own gardens.
CEO of Butterfly Conservation commented:
“We are very excited to join forces with Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Dr Khan not only to raise awareness of the threats to our amazing insects but also to offer workable options for people keen to attract pollinators into their gardens. It is wonderful when one can live alongside the beauty of nature and enjoy its many physical and mental benefits. We hope that people across the UK will set up Insect A&Es to help sustain and support our very important and beautiful insects”.
In the UK at present, three quarters of butterfly and two-thirds of moth species are in decline.
Gill Perkins, CEO, Bumblebee Conservation Trust said, “Any initiative to help provide food for bumblebees and other pollinators is welcome! We know that every little helps when it comes to providing food sources for bees. It’s important for people to grow the right type of bee-friendly flowers and the information available through ‘Insect A&E’ helps people make the right choices for the planet’s health.”
If people make small changes to their gardens they can achieve a massive change for nature. So, join in today, visit this page and become a Nature Doctor!
Growing pollinator-friendly flowers on my balcony
By Thomas Glave in Birmingham
I’m originally from the Bronx, New York, and also Jamaica. I’ve lived in the Jewellery Quarter neighbourhood of Birmingham, just at the city centre’s edge, for about six years. My New York City background exposed me to a variety of urban and roof gardens, in a city where green spaces are infrequent and greatly necessary, as is also true in Birmingham.
I’ve been an ecologically minded person ever since I was a child, perhaps partly due to having grown up in proximity to Jamaica’s gorgeous rain forests. When I was a child, the phrase “climate change” wasn’t heard much, but if you live on an island – or in a huge city – you quickly learn (or should learn) that you’ve got to be respectful and aware of the greater natural world. Climate change news has often invoked alarming stories about bees’ vulnerability; this news began to make me think that perhaps I could do my small bit for bees, rather than just worry about their possible extinction. (Besides, like everyone in my family, I’ve always loved colourful flowers, so planting them for bees would be a ‘win-win’!)
In England, I began to do research on the plants most likely to attract bees and butterflies, and soon learnt that planting diverse flowers would attract and be of great benefit to bees, and would also help achieve a kind of mini-biodiversity. I searched many sources online, and finally ordered packets of the following plants (and probably some others that I can’t remember!)
- Cornflowers (Centaurea cynanus)
- Painted daisies (Tanacetum coccineum)
- Butterfly flower / elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata)
- Dwarf morning glories (Convolvulus tricolor)
- Chinese forget-me-nots (Cynoglossum amabile)
- California poppies (Eschscholzia californica)
- Baby’s breath (Gypsophila elegans)
- Candytuft in white and blue (Iberis variety)
- Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena)
- Poppies (Papaver variety)
- Lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia)
- Borage (Borago officinalis)
- Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis)
In early March I planted all the seeds in twenty planter boxes fixed to my balcony’s railings, then waited for everything to begin sprouting, as they soon enough did, against a backdrop of grey and brick city buildings.
Bees of different varieties have definitely been visiting, it seems most often in the morning, but also during the afternoons. One of the most remarkable things about this planting experience has been actually spotting the bees and butterflies on this fourth-floor balcony, in a largely treeless Birmingham neighbourhood. You can’t help but think: how on earth did they find the flowers? Their presence seems as impossible, nearly, as that of the birds that have alighted on the balcony in search of twigs for their nests, picked from my small trees’ mulch.
I’m fortunate to have a flat that has enormous windows from which, each day, I can see all the flowers in all their glorious flirtatious colour, beckoning the bees and butterflies to come closer. When I walk around the balcony to water and inspect the trees and other plants, I take in (actually revel in) the flowers’ beauty and the insects’ presence amongst them, and think: of course this all must powerfully affect my sense of wellbeing, as it would anyone’s. We know that greenery, colour, and sensory experiences in the natural world can positively affect us and even impact upon our worldview, perhaps more so than ever in our environmentally vulnerable era.
Who knew that flowers and insects could bring such real joy?
More ways to help
Looking to create a bumblebee-friendly space in your local area? Check our our Bee the change resources here.
Growing my own food for bees and wellbeing
4 August 2022
By Amanda Thomas from Watford
Of all the various wildlife-friendly habitats I’ve added into my wild garden, I’ve found that my herb bed along with the fruit and vegetable beds seem to attract the most bees and other pollinators. I have lots of wild areas in my garden – long grass, wildflowers, log piles, bug hotels, ponds, brambles and a dead hedge, but at this time of year it’s the herb bed that’s absolutely buzzing with life from bumblebees, honeybees and solitary bees to butterflies, hoverflies and moths! I love that growing food benefits nature as well as myself and my family.
One of my favourite herbs to grow is thyme, I have a few different varieties and I love to use it in cooking and to make tea – thyme and elderberry* tea is lovely. When in flower, thyme attracts lots of bees, particularly honeybees and also the very tiny but very beautiful mint moth. At the moment the oregano is in full bloom and during the day it’s covered in bees and gatekeeper butterflies. The lavender is always full of bumblebees as well as both small and large white butterflies and it makes a lovely tea too – I like it mixed with lemon balm and lemon thyme.
I also have rosemary, mint, and yarrow growing in the herb bed which all attract pollinators when they flower and make lovely herbal teas too! This year I also added some salad rocket to the herb bed and it’s grown huge! I’ve not had to buy any rocket for months now and it’s flowered profusely, attracting lots of smaller solitary bees. Earlier in the year the chive and nigella flowers were also buzzing with life.
Just across from my herb bed I have some vegetable beds, fruit shrubs and a small greenhouse where I grow salad crops. As part of my wildlife-friendly gardening ethos I don’t use any pesticides at all as I know how detrimental they are for wildlife, everything is grown in a wildlife-friendly way – slugs and snails are re-homed and aphids are left for the birds and ladybirds to enjoy. Thanks to all the wonderful pollinators, this year we have eaten lots of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and now the blackberries are beginning to ripen.
I leave some of the vegetables I grow to go to flower such as onions, broccoli, lettuce and mustard as the flowers are fantastic for pollinators. I’ve found that bumblebees really love onion flowers and once the flowers have been pollinated the seeds can then be collected to grow more vegetables next year.
Next to our veg beds we have a pergola which this year has been covered in passionflowers and now passionfruit, it’s a real favourite with bees but last year I grew nasturtiums and cucamelons on the pergola which both have beautiful, bright flowers that attract pollinators and not only do they look gorgeous but both provide food too. Nasturtium flowers, leaves and seed heads are all edible and nutritious – a great addition to salads and cucuamelons make a great, little snack in the garden!
Another great addition to a wildlife garden is native hedging which can also produce food. We have some newly planted, small, native hedges consisting of various shrubs including hawthorn, elder, hazel and blackthorn all of which produce nectar rich blossom in spring for bees and other pollinators and food in the autumn. As the hedges grow bigger there should be enough food for both us and the wildlife. Hawberries, elderberries, hazelnuts and sloe berries can all be used to make various drinks, foods, teas and tinctures.*
For anyone thinking of making their garden more wildlife-friendly to attract more bees and other pollinators I would highly recommend growing herbs, fruits, vegetables and salad crops. Not only will your garden be buzzing with life and provide bees and other insects with the vital food and shelter they need but it will also provide you with healthy, nutritious, organic food, and what’s more the beautiful sounds, scents and sights of the plants and all the wonderful wildlife they attract will almost certainly bring you joy and improve your wellbeing. I love that wildlife-friendly gardening has taught me so much about nature and myself – I wanted to make my garden wild to benefit nature but in doing so I’ve benefited myself in so many ways!
If Amanda’s blog has inspired you to help bumblebees by growing your own food, check out our FREE guides in our Bee the change area!
* A note on berries: collect responsibly and safely, and make sure you are able to correctly identify what you are picking. Please check correct preparation and cooking instructions for any part of a wild plant collected from outdoors.