Redundant railway land in Wigan transformed into wildflower haven for bees

Redundant railway land next to the West Coast Main Line in Wigan is being transformed into a bee-friendly space in a project supported by Avanti West Coast.

Volunteers from Avanti West Coast, Network Rail, South East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership (CRP), and the local area recently teamed up to turn the land into a wildflower meadow.

Their efforts to plant seeds mark the start of the Wigan Meadow Project, an initiative, funded through Avanti West Coast’s Community Rail Project Fund, which will brighten up a bare spot of land and make it a haven for bees.

South East Lancashire CRP suggested the project as a way to help the region’s bee population, which is in decline due to loss of habitat. The meadow will create a friendly space for bees with pollinator plants and support the local production of honey with beehives.

Webcams will be installed near the beehives to monitor their progress and allow people to learn about bees and beekeeping to inspire them to recreate a wildlife haven at home.

To bring further life to the area, a living wall with edible herbs and plants will be created behind the Swan and Railway pub, adjacent to the unused land, for residents to pick and enjoy at home.

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Joanna Buckley, Community Manager at Avanti West Coast, said: “We want to make a positive difference to the environment around us, so we’re excited to have joined volunteers to begin transforming the area and hope it will inspire others to care for this space, support the local production of honey and make Wigan a bee-friendly town.

“We’re proud to play our part in bringing the community together to help the bee population. This project will brighten up the local scenery for visitors as well as our customers as they travel between London and Scotland onboard our trains.”

Dr Steph Dermott, Community Rail Officer for South East Lancashire CRP, said: “The population of bees in the UK is declining quite rapidly with disastrous consequences forecast. Creating a town centre wildflower meadow area with some hives will provide a habitat for both wild and domestic bees which will be a step towards saving them. Shortages of local honey from Wigan hives for health benefits is another driving factor for this project.”

Kara Wood, Network Rail’s North West Route Head of Performance and Customer Relationship, said: “This is a fantastic project lead by our brilliant community rail partners. At Network Rail, we care deeply about the environment. It will be great to watch this new space bloom into a home for the bees and a community hub for people in Wigan.

“I’m very pleased Network Rail had the chance to contribute to the Wigan Meadow Project and we hope the local community and passengers travelling through Wigan really benefit from it.”