Help East Suffolk bloom by joining new planting campaign
Colourful crops of daffodils are set to bloom across East Suffolk with the launch of a new perennial planting initiative.
Voluntary and community groups are being encouraged to join the campaign by applying for bundles of bulbs to plant locally in time for next spring.
In previous years, East Suffolk Council has gifted bulbs to a number of groups in the north of the district, via commercial partner East Suffolk Norse.
For 2023, the scheme will be opened up for any voluntary and community group across the entire district to plant bulbs on public land.
East Suffolk Blooms officially gets underway in February – with groups required to complete a simple application form by 31st May, ahead of a decision panel meeting to determine applications in June.
Successful groups will then be invited to collect their bulbs from depots in either Ufford or Lowestoft in early November.
A different variety of bulbs will be on offer, in limited number, each year. For 2023, the bulbs will be a variety of narcissus, available in bundles of 500, although groups may apply for more than one bundle.
Cllr James Mallinder, campaign champion and East Suffolk Council’s cabinet member for the Environment, said: “This is another example of our commitment to ensuring we champion and enhance our natural environments.
“Aside from creating a patchwork of colour, this campaign will generate a new network of pollinators across East Suffolk.
“I would encourage voluntary and community groups to join the campaign and help East Suffolk bloom. Together, we can ensure the environmental sustainability of our communities and create a lasting legacy.”
Click here to join the East Suffolk Blooms bulb planting scheme.
Last year, 200 oak trees were distributed to communities across East Suffolk to plant in commemoration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
The ‘Treebilee’ scheme was launched by the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, to encourage the planting of trees during a year of celebrations to mark The Queen’s 70-year reign.
A total of 30 standard trees and 300 whips are also set to be planted beside the public car park in Golf Road, Felixstowe, as part of a Suffolk-wide programme following a successful joint bid to the Government’s Local Authority Treescapes Fund (LATF).
Furthermore, East Suffolk Council’s ‘Pardon the weeds, we’re feeding the bees’ campaign has, for the last three years, allowed grass and wildflowers to grow in more than 100 spaces in order to help wildlife thrive.
Our ambition to become a carbon neutral council, in terms of our assets and operations, and to reach carbon neutrality by 2030, includes trialling alternatives to glyphosate sprays.
No sprays or pesticides are used in council-owned cemeteries and closed churchyards, unless as a final resort to remove invasive species, and glyphosate spraying on East Suffolk Council land has reduced by 45%.