Wildflowers planted by housing association, Orbit are blooming across estates in the London Borough of Bexley as part of its work to ensure that 30% of its outdoor spaces support nature’s recovery by 2030.
The seeds were sown back in November 2023 when volunteers from Orbit and its contractors planted 5,000m2 wildflowers, 3,000 hedgerow whips, and 15 trees across five of its estates in the borough.
All tree, wildflower and hedge species are UK native species that include Field Maple, Crab Apple, Pear, Hawthorn and Dog Rose with a wildflower mix containing 28 native flowering species.
Joanna Crouch, Orbit’s environmental sustainability manager, said: “We want to create sustainable communities for the future in which our customers are proud to live.
“Making our outdoor spaces more biodiverse not only helps wildlife to thrive but also improves customers’ well-being by providing better and more local access to nature.
“The species we’ve chosen should provide the best habitats for our native wildlife and we hope resident enjoy the flowering spectacle across the spring and summers with blossom on trees and wildflower meadow areas.”
Orbit unveiled its new biodiversity approach in June last year, which was developed with the support of the Wildlife Trusts’, aligning with their ‘30 by 30’ campaign as well as the UN Convention’s goals on biological diversity.
Throughout May, over 40 of Orbit’s estates in Bexley and Erith also participated in the ‘No Mow May’ initiative, where carefully selected areas of grass were left uncut to promote and protect pollinating wildflowers, which provide a valuable food source for insects.
Main image: Representatives from Orbit and ground maintenance contractor, Southern Land Services visit the wildflowers that they planted on the Lesney Farm estate in Bexley
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