Day 236 – A city in the United Kingdom has come up with a rather genius way to help the declining bee population. The city of Leicester has begun to replace their traditional bus stops with what they’re calling Living Roof bus shelters, nicknamed “Bee Bus Stops.” The green roofs will be solar-powered and topped with pollinator gardens, filled primarily with a mix of wildflowers and sedum plants (hardy, drought-tolerant succulents with thick, fleshy leaves) to attract bees and other pollinating insects.
Leicester’s network of living roof and solar-powered bus shelters will be the first in the UK. In addition to supporting the city’s pollinator populations, the new green roofs will also serve to absorb rainwater. They will also help with the urban heat island effect, which causes urbanized areas to experience higher temperatures than outlying areas. Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies.
Leicester has proven that with a little imagination great things are possible. Their brilliant idea should be recreated around the globe. This is truly a step in the right direction and one of those stories that gives you hope.
Tomorrow, yoga mats made from recycled wetsuits.
365 Ways to Save the Planet 