New South Somerset District Council Great Wildflower Seed Giveaway
Released On 15th Dec 2021
Parishes across South Somerset can benefit from free wildflower seeds as part of SSDC’s new Great Parish Wildflower Seed Giveaway scheme.
We are asking as many parishes and landowners as possible to get involved and identify sites that would best suit an area for wildflowers in their community, especially areas where the public can experience and access the natural beauty of the flowers. Ideally, the wildflower areas should be located somewhere open and sunny.
Where could your community go wild? Please let us know!
Why are we doing this?
Our biodiversity in South Somerset provides an enormous range of benefits, known as ‘ecosystem services’, yet it is more challenged than ever. We want our communities to come together to help reverse this recent trend of decline, so that we can move towards conserving and enhancing biodiversity in all that we do across South Somerset and beyond.
The Wildflower Seed Giveaway aims to engage our communities within their local environment, to help to create new connections and beneficial habitats throughout South Somerset. We will be providing details on how to create a wildflower meadow and how to maintain it into the future as part of the application process.
South Somerset District Portfolio Holder for Environment Councillor Sarah Dyke said, “We’re really pleased to be launching the Great Parish Wildflower Seed Giveaway this year as a way to encourage our communities to look at their managed spaces in a different way and to help contribute towards creating beneficial habitats throughout our district. This initiative, along with the launch of our new environment website, demonstrates SSDC’s commitment to enhancing biodiversity across South Somerset, as well as supporting our net-zero climate ambitions.”
How to apply
Application forms for the scheme have been sent to all Parishes in the district, but if you have not received yours yet, or you are a private landowner who would like to discuss the scheme, please get in touch at our email address: SSDCEnvironment@southsomerset.gov.uk
How to stay informed
To keep you informed on SSDC’s eco-projects, including the Great Parish Wildflower Seed Giveaway, as well as projects from our communities, we have recently launched our new website www.southsomersetenvironment.co.uk.
Following our declaration of a climate and ecological emergency in May 2019, we have been working at pace to deliver sustainable projects for South Somerset. We are committed to enabling our residents and businesses to lower their carbon emissions as well as significantly reducing our own. Our new website provides a platform for parishes, organisations and residents to not only follow us on our journey to carbon neutrality, but to join in and share theirs too.
We have framed the site around our Environment Strategy with five themes of Energy and Renewables, Natural Environment, Transport, Waste and Recycling, and Our Carbon Footprint. We also want to interact with you in the Get Involved section, including a space for our Parish Environment Champions, with details of events, resources, grants and more plus a forum to hold conversations, ask questions and showcase local eco projects happening across our district. You will also find our Great Green Directory, listing South Somerset Businesses, groups and organisations that have great eco credentials to help residents make sustainable choices when making purchases.
