Head Peace CIC, a not for profit Community Interest Company based in Ballywalter, has partnered up with the residents of Montgomery Court and Manor on Donaghadee Road in Bangor, a sheltered housing community operated by Alpha Housing, to start bee bombing!

The residents have their own wildlife group and decided to install large planters for wild flowers, and when Head Peace heard about this, they immediately offered support from their BeeBomb Bank.

So what are BeeBombs? Small pieces of extruded clay which contain the seeds of up to 18 species of native wildflowers, which can be scattered or gently pressed into soil, and, in time, produce an array of flowers including cowslip, cornflower, common poppies and corn marigold….all those old flowers which used to bloom in meadows before the advent of intensive farming.

Caroline Izett of Head Peace told the Advertiser: ‘Funded by Live Here Love Here/Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, we started the BeeBomb Bank in 2018 to raise awareness of the plight of pollinators and the importance of sustaining wildlife as something vital to our own survival. The importance of pollinators cannot be stressed enough. Establishing conservation pockets in places like community gardens to allow wild flower habitat to thrive, is very rewarding and highly beneficial to the persons who plant these wonderful native wildflowers, and play a part in looking after nature, which in turn nurtures us all.’

A spokesperson for the Montgomery Group added: ‘We are just so pleased to be working with Head Peace, and want to thank them for supplying the BeeBombs. When we planted them together the craic was great.’

Head Peace CIC works with the community in the Ards and North Down area to empower people in taking back control of their own wellbeing through services and activities including Peer Support, WRAP (wellness recovery action plan), art therapy, creative workshops and environmental projects.

Head Peace is offering BeeBombs to other communities which have suitable space and ground. They can be contacted at info@headpeace.co.uk or on Facebook,  https://facebook.com/HeadPeaceCIC.