To bee or not to bee - an evaluation of management strategies to promote pollinators in private gardens

Sammanfattning: Urbanisation has an increasingly negative effect on wild bees and other pollinating insects because it results in land-use change and habitat-loss, leading to population declines. We rely on ecosystem services that bees provide and must ensure their survival. Private gardens constitute a substantial part of green spaces in cities, making them important foraging habitats for pollinators. In 2018 The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) started a nationwide project to engage the Swedish public in helping bees by using different garden management strategies to create “bee-friendly” plantations or meadows. This study aims to evaluate the success of such “bee-friendly” plantations and meadows in terms of pollinator visitations and the project participants’ experiences by analysing citizen survey data from the SSNC project. A literature study and a statistical analysis of survey data were carried out. The results showed that survey respondents’ perceived success of meadows or plantations was related to the amount of insects observed. For plantations, perceived success was also related to the age of the plantation and the environment in which it was planted. Older plantations, and plantations implemented in natural environments were perceived as more successful. However, most respondents implemented their strategies in urban or rural gardens, indicating that these spaces are important for providing pollinator habitats in built areas. The literature study validated that meadow implementation through mowing lawns less often and planting “bee-friendly” flowers is beneficial for wild bees. Further, the literature study validated that the flowers that participants observed as best in terms of blooming, are good choices for helping bees and other pollinators. Finally, some suggestions for improving the SSNC project and the survey questions are given.