From Utility Week and Yorkshire Water

Ben Aston, biodiversity specialist at Yorkshire Water, sheds light on the firm’s joint investment in pollinator superhighways and their impact on managing its water catchments.

Yorkshire Water recently revealed that surveys are underway at six of its sites – Fewston, Swinsty, Thruscross, Embsay, Grimwith and Barden reservoirs – after they were slated to become part of a new pollinator superhighway.

This will see £30,000 jointly invested in the Bee Together project with Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT), which has already helped to deliver projects worth approximately £30 million.

The Bee Together project aims to create an unbroken, wildflower rich, stretch of wildlife through both rural and urban areas with the aim of improving biodiversity and reversing the decline of wild pollinators in the region.

Yasmina Gallagher, a technical specialist at Yorkshire Water, says that such conservation efforts often go hand-in-hand with the firm’s management of water catchments.

According to Forest Research – the research agency of the Forestry Commission – trees and woodland are effective at intercepting aerial drift of pesticides, as well as other pollutants, that would otherwise enter watercourses.

Water in rivers, lakes and estuaries reflects the quality of its immediate surroundings, with a higher standard helping reduce the cost and environmental impact from energy use and treating water, the agency adds.

“Our colleagues will be volunteering their time to carry out pollinator surveys, create action plans and deliver the habitat the bees require to thrive in our area,” Gallagher explains.

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