Glanbia CountryLife is buzzing as public urged to take the Operation PolliNation Pledge
Take the Operation Pollination Pledge and be in with a chance to win a €2,000 pollinator-friendly garden renovation, along with a consultation from one of our expert horticulturists!
Competition closes 23rd August 2020.
At CountryLife, we’re calling on enthusiasts of all ages and all skill levels to take the Operation PolliNation pledge and be in with a chance to win a €2,000 pollinator-friendly garden renovation!
We want to help gardeners make their plots pollinator-friendly environments and show a little love for our native Irish bees -a third of which are threatened with extinction.
Our website and social media channels are buzzing with tips, hints and ideas from our horticulturists to help you play your part in saving the bees.
The ‘Take the Pledge ‘initiative includes free and easy expert tips from our horticulturalists on steps towards creating a pollinator-friendly garden. We’ll help you pick the right plants for different environments and show how best to care for them in order to help attract and support bees in their vital work.
We have a whole host of prizes on offer for those who sign up to ‘Take the Pledge’ . You can win a €2,000 garden renovation, which also includes a garden consultation from an expert horticulturist. Share your photos and videos with us on social media for a chance to win even more prizes!
As part of the pollinator-friendly initiative free wildflower seed packs will be distributed in-store across CountryLife outlets in Munster and Leinster for gardeners.
CountryLife Retail Marketing Manager, Grace O’Dwyer, says gardens countrywide have been a hive of activity during lockdown and never before have so many people been keen to make small changes to support our all-important pollinator friends and wildlife in general.
“The entire CountryLife team is excited and enthusiastic about the Operation PolliNation ‘Take the Pledge’ initiative and are eager to make a difference. Small steps add up to big gains; together we can make a big difference.
“We’re encouraging everyone– to Take the Operation Pollination Pledge, and make 2020 and the years to come transformative for our bees,” she said.
As well as urging gardeners to Take the Pledge, we’re highlighting in-store and online pollinator-friendly plants with eye-catching ‘Plant These for the Bees’ branding. Our experienced horticulturalists will also continue to promote natural pest control methods and are providing free information for customers to help you to reduce or eliminate your use of herbicides.
Malachy Doherty, Horticulturist in our Dungarvan garden centre said: “As much as one third of our bee species are threatened with extinction. We’re asking the public to take the Operation PolliNation pledge, and make small changes in their garden like sowing Irish-grown plants that bees prefer.
“You don’t have to have acres to play your part. You can plant pollinator-friendly containers, bulbs, trees or shrubs – all depending on the size of your garden. We’ve loads of helpful ideas and tips and are only too happy to help.”
Operation PolliNation Take the Pledge Top 10 Tips
- Protect areas that are already providing food & shelter for pollinators
- By reducing mowing, this allows wildflowers (food) to flower among longer grass
- Pollinator-friendly planting – take actions to ensure you have flower blooms that can provide food for pollinators right until October
- Plant a clover lawn
- Plant pollinator friendly containers, bulbs, trees & shrubs
- Create a pollinator friendly flower bed
- Plant a native wildflower meadow
- Provide nesting habitats in addition to food, pollinators need safe places to live
- Drill holes in wood or install a “bee hotel”
- Reduce and follow best practice in the use of pesticides
