Willow is a vital food source for bees in spring. At this time of year, you can take hardwood cuttings from existing Willows, creating a new Willow plantation at little cost.

Annual reporting is a very important part of the AIPP and is carried out across all our networks of partners and supporters. The core annual review is that of the Plan itself, and the 186 actions agreed for 2021-2025. Responsibility for delivery of these actions is shared out between the supporting partner organisations. Huge thanks to all of our partners for providing their annual updates.

We are seeing very positive engagement and real commitment from all our partners. Of the 186 actions in the Plan, 94% were completed for 2024 or are currently in train.

The 2024 All-Ireland Pollinator Plan Council Partner report has been published. In 2023, all local authorities signed up as Council Partners to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, showing we are now all on the same page when it comes to managing our landscape for pollinators. The work of local authorities continues to grow in scale and ambition. In 2024, this work has included extensive meadow restoration, development of local provenance stock through local seed harvesting, habitat mapping projects to identify, protect, restore and establish areas for pollinators, and significant efforts to reduce pesticide use.

For each existing Council Partner, the point of contact was requested to provide up to five short bullet point updates on their activities in 2024. The photograph below shows reduced mowing at Bundoran, Co. Donegal.

The work of the Irish Pollinator Research Network underpins the objectives, actions and recommendations of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. See their publications in 2024.

Thanks to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan officers within the National Biodiversity Data Centre for their excellent work in supporting the activities of the Plan in 2024:

Kate Chandler: Communities & Engagement Pollinator Officer
Ruth Wilson: Farmland Pollinator Officer
Sarah Kelly: Agri-business Officer

We particularly thank the funders, without whom, it would be impossible to have these three posts: The National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Bord Bia.

Huge thanks to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan Steering Group for engaging with the Plan so constructively and for continually providing such a positive steer of the initiative: https://pollinators.ie/about/aipp-steering-group/

Implementation of the Plan is coordinated by the National Biodiversity Data Centre
 

The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is a shared plan of action. It is about all of us coming together to try to create an island where pollinators can survive and thrive. The easy part is identifying what we need to do, the hard part is making it happen on the ground. The success of the Plan is entirely due to your support, goodwill, and enthusiasm. We extend our enormous thanks to everyone who has taken actions and engaged with the Plan this year. We look forward to lots more progress and new initiatives in 2025.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year.
 
Úna FitzPatrick
National Biodiversity Data Centre