Planting in parks to make a difference

The leaves have started to fall, signalling bulb planting season! Across the city’s parks, bulbs are being planted ready to bring a vibrant pop of colour next spring and summer, as well as an important food source for pollinators - like bees and butterflies.

Our landscape and operations team, with the help of contractors and volunteers, will plant more than 60,000 bulbs this year. We'’ll plant a mix that includes Alliums, Daffodils and Camassia.

If you’d like to get involved, there’s a special chance for residents to lend a hand at the Make A Difference Day bulb planting event in Kingsmead this weekend! Why not drop in, and dig in, to help your local wildlife anytime between 10am – 12.30pm on Saturday 26th October.

Already this season, students from St Paul’s Catholic School, MK College, and Drayton Park, Emmerson Valley and Caroline Haslett primary schools have planted more than 1,200 bulbs in local parks. To avoid the spring growth being mown with the grass, most of the bulbs have been planted around the bases of trees.

There’s also been wildflower seeding by the Ukrainian supplementary school "Sunflower" who, after commemorating the Chornobyl disaster, wanted to raise more awareness of environmental issues.

The Outdoor Learning Team who deliver the sessions said “We love being able to offer these sessions for free. Seeing the children’s delight in planting, getting muddy and doing something that helps the environment is great! If they enjoy the experience, hopefully, they will grow up wanting to protect the natural world and get out and about in their local parks.”

Find out more about how we manage Milton Keynes' landscape.