The Bee Bold Awards selection panel, which celebrates organisations taking action to support pollinators and tackle the ecological crisis, commended the engagement with pollinator work by the girls and how their actions are raising awareness and educating the wider public.
Bee-friendly wildflower seeds and bulbs have been planted and maintained by the twenty young members of the Girls’ Brigade group, within the church grounds and in containers. Wildflower seed bombs and bee-friendly bulbs have also been distributed out to the community including to local care homes.
These wildflowers and bee-friendly bulbs allows pollinators to thrive, increasing the number of pollinators and educating the public about the importance of pollinators to our local gardens and communities.
The Girls’ Brigade group is led by Linda Pillinger who said, “I’m very proud of everyone involved. It’s encouraging to see the immediate impact of this initiative, and I know the girls are excited as well. What’s really excited me is the amount of interest people have taken in it and the amount of pleasure the girls have had watering, planting and generally looking after the garden.”
The group has even twinned the Keynsham Baptist Garden with a rural garden in Migori, Kenya, through the Ripple Effect charity.
The girls have also created displays to showcase the importance of gardens, bees and insect pollinators to educate visitors and encourage others to take action as well.
During the 2023 Bee Bold Awards, a celebration of individuals and groups taking super-positive steps to support pollinators, the Keynsham Girls’ Brigade group was awarded the People for Nature award for their planting initiatives on the church grounds and for helping to raise awareness in the community.