One of this century’s most pressing challenges is ensuring our built and natural environments are resilient to climate change. As one of the world’s great cities, London has a responsibility to lead the way, and there’s an onus on us as the people shaping it to push the boundaries with innovative thinking that translates to meaningful action.

Urban greening is a powerful way we can strengthen the resilience of cities for the benefit of the people that call them home, as well as the delicate, life-sustaining ecosystems we rely on. Recognising the importance of this, The London Plan 2021 introduced the use of an Urban Green Factor (UGF) to evaluate the quality and quantity of urban greening in development proposals. 

When done correctly, urban greening has significant benefits: improving air quality, reducing pollution, bettering quality of life. Science is key to innovation and success, which is what inspired the team at Mount Anvil to establish our unique partnership with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and dive deep on one area in particular: improving pollinator ecosystems.

Pollination is one of our planet’s most important biological processes, and we need to support the creatures that make it happen. Urban greening is one way of doing that, but it’s only with expert insight that we’ve been able to ensure we’re creating truly biodiverse spaces across London that do the job the planet needs them to.

For example, through our work with RBG Kew we’ve learned the honeybee is just one of more than 270 bee species we have in the UK, many of which are threatened. However, the honeybee is not at risk and in some parts of our city, like the City of London, may now actually be overpopulated with them because of well-intentioned efforts to “save the bees”!

Working with RBG Kew’s team of world-leading scientists, we’ve developed an open-source biodiversity blueprint for residential developers. It aims to address London’s biodiversity crisis by creating a guide for how to create better urban homes for pollinators, people, and places. Importantly, it also includes methods for measuring the impact on pollinator populations at development sites over time.

We have just celebrated a year since the blueprint was published. RBG Kew’s researchers are conducting baseline studies to measure and quantitatively score its impact across four areas: pollinator food resource, pollinator habitat, site management and resident engagement.

This is an ongoing process, and at Mount Anvil we’re thrilled to be working with housing associations and local authorities that share our long-term commitment to this work in estate regeneration. It’s also why resident engagement is a standalone pillar of the blueprint. As city dwellers, we all have a role to play in helping our urban greenery and ecosystems thrive. As city builders, it’s up to us to put the infrastructure in place to make it happen.