Could more bus stops become bee friendly?
The other day myself and a colleague were idling away our work day by staring out of the window at work checking out the apartments and the street below when he pointed out the bus stops below and told me about what was going on in Utrecht.
In the city, which has recognised the vital role bees have in the local environment, and wants to combat their decline 316 bus stops have been transformed into bee friendly stops. The roofs are planted with sedum, grasses and wild flowers and each stop has bamboo seats and little LED lights for the signage. The roofs are tended to by workers who travel around the city by electric vehicles, though not much needs to be done. The bus stops are pretty much self managing, though I guess no swarms have landed on one yet, that might take a little more work. The plants help with dust in the areas and are just a little bit more nicer to look at. The council has worked with the bus stop provider Clear Channel to promote and manage the stops.
I looked down at the street again, noting the Clear Channel adverts on the bus stops and the fact that the street I was looking at was less than 2 years old, thinking how cool it would be if we could have thought of this.