Nature and biodiversity

Nature and biodiversity

We are committed to supporting biodiversity across the city. We’ve developed and are currently involved in a range of initiatives to support biodiversity right across the city.

Safari in the City

Safari in the City celebrates Belfast's biodiversity. Join these informative walking tours with Wild Belfast and explore the urban jungle right on your doorstep.

As part of Belfast 2024, experience a year-long programme of events, nature walks and art installations which unveil the joy and wonder of wildlife in our city. Citizens and communities will:

• learn how to safeguard wildlife-rich spaces;
• learn about urban planning; and
• how to shield the city, its wildlife and its people from the challenges posed by climate change.

With a mix of artists and nature lovers taking part, several of the art installations designed from this programme will not only conserve wildlife and enhance their habitats, but also to vividly bring these species to life through creativity.

Read more about Safari in the City (Link opens in new window)

Trees

Trees don’t just provide shade and shelter; they purify the air and are brilliant for biodiversity. A single tree can be a home to hundreds of species. They also store water and provide a food source for local ecosystems.

Trees remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in their trunks, stems, leaves and roots and in the soil. 

We’re aiming to plant one million native trees across Belfast by 2035 as part of our One Million Trees project. This collaboration between public, private and voluntary sectors has seen a total of 110,254 planted since 2021.

Read more about our One Million Trees project.

Wildflowers

Wildflowers support insects including butterflies, bumblebees and hoverflies, which then feed mammals and birds. Working in partnership, we're aiming to develop a network of flower-rich areas of all shapes and sizes throughout the city. From larger parks and open spaces to your garden or even a window box, we can all do something to help our declining wildflowers and the species that rely on them.

Wildflower sites across Belfast

Pollinators

We’ve been working for many years to help pollinators such as bumblebees, hoverflies, moths, butterflies and beetles to thrive in our city. Our previous projects include Bee-licious and Hedgerow Hopes. Under Bee-licious we worked with local communities to restore networks of semi-natural habitats where pollinators can find food and shelter. This project was developed with eight councils across Northern Ireland, who are concerned by the decline of our pollinating insects.

Belfast’s Buzzing was a partnership project with BugLife and the National Trust which supported the recovery of Northern Ireland’s bees and other pollinating insects by restoring wildflower meadows and grasslands across Belfast.

The loss of natural and semi-natural habitats has been a key driver in pollinator declines, and we own and manage a number of significant sites including Cave Hill, Barnetts Demesne and Lagan Meadows. We’ve signed up to the All-Ireland Pollinator plan and agreed to take actions to support pollinators on our land. 

City Cemetery biodiversity

A key part of the City Cemetery Heritage Project is enhancing the natural heritage on site. The project is focussed on connecting habitats within the cemetery and to the Belfast Hills. 

We restored species rich meadows on site and used traditional scything skills to manage these.  We’ve provided learning and training opportunities for staff and communities on habitat management, plant identification and survey techniques. Interesting finds on the site include holly blue butterflies and the elm flower bug previously thought to be extinct in Northern Ireland. There’s even a biodiverse roof on part of the new visitor centre.

For more information email [email protected].