Ilkeston Train Station Bee project

When we talk about community rail projects, more often than not they involve one station and the efforts of a dedicated band of station adopters, possibly with the assistance of a Community Rail Partnership Officer and a third party specialist or two.

In the middle of lockdown, a project was put together involving five stations and their station adopters, two Community Rail Partnerships and their Officers, a national charity, numerous suppliers of plants, soil and timbers and no end of logistical solutions, as well as three Station Service Technicians from East Midlands Railway, plus a local MP and some EMR and Community Rail Network volunteers. 

From guidance received, The Bee Friendly Trust, made up of a small army of volunteers, began descending on five railway stations in the county, including Ilkeston to create a bee-friendly habitat on platforms.

Honeybees can fly up to three miles from the hive when out foraging for pollen and nectar, but in areas that are densely populated or over-farmed they sometimes struggle to find enough food.   So, The Bee Friendly Trust is working with railway authorities, community rail partnerships, and local groups across the UK to install bee-friendly flowering planters, fruit tree orchards and micro wildlife gardens on railway station platforms. 

After several false starts because of the national lockdowns, the project finally took off in late March with planters put into place with bee-loving plants and to be looked after by station adopters, bringing delight to passengers and staff at each site.

The final stage of plans saw the team arrive on the platforms of Ilkeston Railway Station on Friday 14th May 2021, but the challenge before them was one not experienced before - the clearing of two large weed infested areas in a car park in order to plant up with even more bee friendly plants, installing raised beds near to the platform entrance, plus two in the pick-up/drop off point, however, the challenge was overcome to complete the current project on a high.

The trust now aims to get local schools involved, through the delivery of talks to children about bees, the environment and sustainability, as well as potential art projects and the construction of bug hotels to encourage other pollinators and useful insects.  A further roll out of specialist planters at other stations in the East Midlands Railway managed network has not been ruled out.