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In March 2021, we contacted Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) to increase our stocks of wildflower mix to share. Usually, 4 grams of wildflower seed will cover 1 sq meter of soil. So we were surprised when DWT offered us 3 kilos!

We packed up individual 4g packets as well as offered larger amounts of seed to local community groups and schools. We cycled all over Exeter delivering individual packets to people who requested one from our Facebook page. We also created little display boxes holding individual packets and offered them to local independent businesses to share with their customers. These proved to be a hit.

In spring/summer 2020, the enclosed children’s area of Belmont Park, Exeter transformed into a meadow during lockdown. When it was mown and reopened in late August, we wanted the children to remember what it had looked like, and to draw attention to the importance of meadows and their contribution to mitigating species decline.

We asked children from the Newtown Primary School to create drawings for an outdoor exhibition and gave them packets of wildflower seeds in exchange for their artwork.

The exhibition was displayed over several weekends in August on the veranda of Belmont Hut. Children who visited the exhibition were also encouraged to give us drawings to add to the display in exchange for seeds. If they didn’t have a drawing, we asked them to find seeds from plants around the park which they could give us in exchange for our seeds. The children had great fun searching the park for seed heads they could find among the park vegetation.

In August 2021, we held our first seed saving workshop in Belmont Park. We chose saving tomato seeds which is fun to do once you know the steps!

In Spring 2022, we received a grant to buy snowdrops ‘in the green’ to plant in spaces around the city that would benefit from some cheerful planting around the city and in housing estates. We also learned from our young local beekeeper friend, Sam, that snowdrops are a great first available food for bees.

The project was incredibly popular and received requests for snowdrops from 20 different groups and individuals.