Skip to content

Helping pollinators, supporting farming – we need your views

A bumblebee on a flower.
Home

Pollinating insects are essential to healthy landscapes, thriving wildlife and our economy. Across the Cairngorms National Park, farmers already play a vital role in creating and managing the habitats that pollinators depend on, including hedgerows, field margins and bare ground. Pollinators need all these features to feed, nest and breed. 

As pollinators face increasing pressures, including climate change, there is an opportunity to build on existing good work for pollinators by creating bigger, better-connected habitats across the National Park. The Park Authority is developing a new pollinator project to support this and it’s essential that local farmers' knowledge and experience shape the project from the outset, so please spare a few minutes to share your views. 

Are you already doing anything on your farm or croft that benefits pollinators? For example: leaving areas fallow, mob grazing, planting native woodland, orchard/flowering trees, species rich hedgerows, sowing native wildflower areas etc. Please tell us briefly what you're doing, how it’s funded and whether it’s worked well from your point of view.
What makes it difficult to do more for pollinators on your farm or croft? For example: time, cost, funding, practicalities, seed availability, advice, conflicting priorities or something else.
If there was a new pollinator project in the Cairngorms National Park, what would make it worthwhile for you? Please choose your top three priorities, or add your own.