MIDDLEWICH is showing its commitment to supporting our struggling pollinator species while making the town more beautiful into the bargain.

Residents will be gathering at Fountain Fields Park on Sunday, March 26, for a fun-filled family event to raise awareness of the importance of having plant life in our communities to benefit vital insects.

The event has been organised by local community group Crazy Daisies, and will include wildflower seed scattering, vegetable growing tutorials for children, cress head making, and two new apple trees will be planted for the town’s use by Middlewich town mayor, Cllr Colin Coules.

Crazy Daisies co-founder, Denise Appleton, believes we can tap into children’s natural curiosity about the world around them to spark their enthusiasm for growing.

Northwich Guardian: From left to right: Katie Mulhern; Middlwich town mayor Cllr Colin Coules; Denise AppletonFrom left to right: Katie Mulhern; Middlwich town mayor Cllr Colin Coules; Denise Appleton (Image: Denise Appleton)

She said: “We’re getting the community involved in scattering the seeds, and we’re giving the children seeds to take home with them to grown on, so they might get interested in growing things for themselves.

“We want to raise awareness of how important it is to have things growing, because it's so important for the bees and other pollinators.

“The parents probably know less about the bees than the kids do, because they’re learning about the environment in schools.

“We’re also going to run a competition for the longest bean later in the year, just as a way of keeping the kids interested.

“Last year we did a giant sunflower competition, giving out more than 5,000 free seeds. The winning bloom reached seven feet, three inches.

“But this year, we think it will be fun to focus on something the kids can eat.”

Crazy Daisies was started 18 months ago by Denise and her friend Katie Mulhearn.

They each put in £20 of their own money and bought two kilos of native wildflower seeds, which they began scattering around the town.

“We just thought we’d go out and find somewhere to scatter them.

"It got to the point where there was about eight of us involved, then we thought we’d start a group on Facebook to see if anyone wanted to join us.

“When we got up the next days there was more than 100 people on there. It all just took off.

“We even have our own signature plant now - Phacelia.

"It’s a really great plant - it reseeds itself, grows back if you cut it down, it’s great for the bees, and it’s one of the only native plants to have blue pollen. It goes in all our mixes.”