Green roofs for bumblebees
8 April 2021
By Dr Cathy Horsley, West Country Buzz Conservation Officer.
A green roof, or living roof, is a creative way to make some extra pollinator habitat, especially when space might be limited. In the struggle to make space for nature with our ever-growing population and different demands on the environment, green roofs can help give our bumblebees a bit of breathing space. With so many creative ideas out there, from putting a green roof on notice boards, sheds, and houses, to covering office walls with plants, there’s plenty to get inspired by.
Bumblebee Conservation Trust Member, Nicky Scott, describes how he created one on his shed roof:
“When I first went to Norway, many years ago, I really loved all the log cabins with green roofs, some even had animals grazing on them. I had a new shed built for me a couple of years ago and I said I wanted to have a wildflower meadow on it. This meant making the structure stronger than normal to hold up the extra weight. I also lined the shed with plywood sheet to really strengthen the structure and filled the void with as many discarded bits and pieces of insulation I could find. A membrane goes over the roof, and at the back of the roof where it gently slopes it goes into a gutter diverting into a barrel. I put the poorest soil I could on top mixed with some sand and made a few little piles of stones here and there too.
I sowed all kinds of seeds up there, some annuals, including yellow rattle, biennials and some perennials too. I also planted several plants to get it going in the first year. In Norway we found they even put green roofs on noticeboards and any little structure possible. It would be so lovely to see that idea taking off here too. The shed roof is alive with bees and other insects and takes very little maintenance, just a little bit of cutting back.”
