STORM TRACKER: Follow 'Storm Amy' as it bears down on Ireland amid brutal forecast
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Clondermott House in the Waterside area of Derry was one of the first supported living schemes to establish a mini bee garden, as part of the Apex's plans to encourage biodiversity.
An organisation known for providing homes for local people has recently turned its attention to developing homes for a much smaller species. Over the summer, Apex Housing Association (Apex) has been working to encourage biodiversity in its communities so that important pollinators such as bees and hoverflies can thrive.
As a new business supporter of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, Apex has established short flower meadows, introduced mini bee gardens and encouraged those living in Apex communities to consider mowing their lawns less often to help boost local pollinator populations.
Margaret Rose Doherty from Apex Housing Association explains: “One third of Ireland’s wild bee species is threatened with extinction, and this is mainly due to a reduction in the amount of food and safe nesting sites that support them. As a local organisation with a focus on sustainability, we recognise we have the potential to make an impact on this important issue, alongside our tenants and residents.”
“As supporters of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, we are embracing dandelions and other native wildflowers which are vitally important food sources for pollinators. Our gardening team has recently established short flower meadows in Glenowen and Cornshell Lane and are also working to revamp our community garden at Cornshell Fields.”
Alongside this work, mini bee gardens have been introduced in Apex’s supported living schemes and communities; and a ‘No Mow May’ campaign encouraged anyone living in an Apex home to embrace wildflowers in their own garden.
Pictured at the new short flower meadow in Glenowen, left to right, Joe Blee of Glenowen Residents Committee, with Margaret Rose Doherty and Ciaran Doherty from Apex Housing Association.
Apex’s annual gardening competition ‘Apex in Bloom’ now also includes a ‘Best Garden for Pollinators’ category, with all those embracing the biodiversity buzz encouraged to enter their garden by Friday, 6 September 2024.
For more information, please visit www.apex.org.uk or phone 028 7130 4800.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
