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Creating ‘pit stops’ for bees and other pollinators
Enhancing urban landscapes
Connecting people to nature and to each other
The Patchwork Meadow is a small voluntary organisation that started in North Edgbaston, Birmingham during the first lockdown in 2020.
Our aim is to brighten up our city’s neighbourhoods and help to bring back the pollinators.
We believe that if we all plant pocket meadows in window-boxes, pots and planters and in our gardens and streets, together we can create a huge green space, a ‘Patchwork Meadow’ across Birmingham and Sandwell.
Look at the scale of impact The Patchwork Meadow has achieved so far across Birmingham and Sandwell.
Will you be a pocket meadow maker?
By planting a pocket meadow you can help provide vital ‘pit stops for bees’. It has been estimated that a bumblebee needs to drink nectar and eat pollen every 40 minutes of flying time; without this they cannot fly.
Meadows have decreased in the UK by 97% since the Second World War and one third of the UK’s bee population has disappeared over the past decade.
If we all plant just one square metre of wildflowers, we can all help to make a difference.
We have worked with volunteers to plant pocket meadows in a range of settings including the grounds of churches, retirement complexes, supported accommodation for vulnerable individuals, in cemeteries, parks, by a prison, in communal planters by tower blocks and youth centres.
Our seeds have been given out at events and as part of art projects.
If you would like to discuss working on a project with us in your locality, please get in touch.
If you are a business and can provide labour as part of your CSR activity, let’s discuss how you can support our projects.
Our Seed Packets are mixed with everything you need to create a 1m sq pocket meadow. We will send you the right mix for the meadow you want to make. So tell us where it will be; in a sunny spot, shaded area, pot or tree well (you might need to seek permission from or alert the land owner).
We accept donations of £1.50 a packet as a minimum. Any surplus made means we can give packets away to residents in the under resourced areas of the city.
When neighbours get together to enhance their streets and neighbourhoods with wild flowers, people benefit as well as the pollinators!
In addition to adding a splash of colour and vibrancy to the landscape, making meadows together is a great way to meet your neighbours and start conversations with strangers.
If you would like to use our letterbox card templates and learning to get a targeted project going where you live, please get in touch.
We focus on trying to reach people who may not be able to afford to buy seeds.
Our seeds have been given out at a wide range of locations including food hubs, Places of Welcome, local ward meetings and community events.
They have been given out in ‘kindness’ and wellbeing packs on Mental Health Awareness Day and in activity packs for Syrian refugee families (with instructions translated into Arabic).
We are most excited about helping to brighten up some of the most nature-depleted areas in the city and raising awareness about bees.
We know that children love to see flowers and plants growing, but don’t always have access to a garden, so we run ‘mini-meadows in egg-boxes’ sessions, which they can take then take home.
If you are running a community event, you can invite us to come along to talk about our work, run a children’s seed planting activity or bring our playful Bee Activity Trail along. Donations welcome!
How to get started on your pocket meadow
Our small group is led completely by volunteers. We apply for grants to run projects across Birmingham and Sandwell.
Thank you to our past and current funders
and to the following organisations for their donations
