“It’s great to help the wild bees find a home, as there seems to be a housing shortage for bees, too,” says Katarina Erelöf, Environmental Coordinator for Fortum.
Pussy willows flower in early spring with their furry catkins. Bumble bees, wild bees and other insects benefit from these flowers at a time when there is not much else for them to eat. The area around the pussy willows growing on the slope was also cleared to give them more space and make it easier for wild bee species to access their nectar.
The trees that were cleared during the course of the project will be left there as dead wood to provide homes for other insects. A habitat pile was also built. It will look like a bit of a mess to start with, but it will soon become a ‘residential area’ and pantry for all kinds of bugs and insects.
“The Municipality of Avesta is experienced in building habitat piles. It’s great that we can create this kind of thing together on Fortums land as well,” says Peter Klintberg, Municipal Ecologist at the Municipality of Avesta.
Fortum strives to reduce the environmental impact of our enterprise while at the same time delivering power and heating to private homes, businesses, and the public sector. Hydropower does not emit any greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and is therefore good from a climate perspective. On the other hand, there is local environmental impact in all electricity production. It is for this reason that we participate in several different environmental projects at our power plants. Such efforts are underway in Avesta.
