Bees on the Brink: Scatter These 5 Native Seed Mixes in Your Postcode – Legal Everywhere in the Five Eyes
Colony Collapse Disorder and habitat loss have decimated wild bee populations. Here are 5 bioregional native seed mixes you can legally scatter to help save them.
The FY Times Staff
Published on
Read time
9 min read
The global collapse of wild pollinators is no longer a fringe concern. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) 2024 assessment confirmed a 40 % decline in wild bee populations across temperate zones since 2010, driven by neonicotinoid pesticides, habitat fragmentation, and industrial monoculture. In the UK, the State of Nature 2025 report recorded 13 native bee species now classified as critically endangered. Canada’s prairie provinces have lost 62 % of bumblebee diversity since 1990. Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) documented a 35 % drop in native stingless bee colonies in Queensland alone. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation flagged the decline of the long-tongued *Leioproctus* species as ‘imminent risk.’ In the US, the USDA’s 2025 Bee Informed Partnership survey showed average colony loss at 48 % – the worst on record.
You do not need a farm, a permit, or a PhD to reverse this in your postcode. You need 30 seconds, a handful of seed, and the knowledge that every square metre of diverse forage supports 40–60 individual bees per season. Below are bioregional seed mixes proven to boost pollinator abundance, plus the exact legal citation that stops council jobsworths cold in each jurisdiction.
US – Northeast
Mix: New England Aster, Black-Eyed Susan, Wild Bergamot (Xerces Society ‘Northeast Pollinator Mix’ – $38/lb). Scatter along interstate medians, railway embankments, or abandoned lots. Legal cover: USDOT Federal Highway Administration Policy 2015 explicitly allows ‘non-invasive beautification plantings’ on federal-aid highway rights-of-way. Keep a laminated copy of the policy in your glovebox; state troopers have backed down when shown the FHWA memo.
US – Midwest
Mix: Prairie Blazing Star, Purple Coneflower, Common Milkweed (Monarch Watch bulk – $42/lb). Legal on county road ditches and utility easements; cite Iowa DOT Directive 2019-11 (‘Wildflower seeding encouraged on non-mowed ROW’). Plant in spring after last frost – milkweed is monarch butterfly crack cocaine. One pound seeds 1,000 m² of monarch nursery.
UK – England & Wales
Mix: Cornflower, Field Scabious, Red Clover (RHS Bees & Butterflies – £12/100 g). Verge scattering is ‘permitted development’ under Town & Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 Schedule 2 Part 12. Use a seed shaker bottle (repurpose an old detergent bottle with holes drilled in the lid) for even spread. Bonus: add a handful of Phacelia tanacetifolia – blooms in 6 weeks, loved by hoverflies.
Canada – Prairies
Mix: Gaillardia, Smooth Aster, Showy Goldenrod (Seeds of Diversity Prairie Blend – C$45/50 g). Alberta Transportation policy 2022: ‘wildflower seeding encouraged on public boulevards and highway medians.’ Mix with vermiculite for high-wind days. Target Calgary to Winnipeg corridor – the last intact grassland pollinator highway.
Australia – Temperate
Mix: Kangaroo Paw, Everlasting Daisy, Blue Lechenaultia (Native Seeds Pty Ltd – A$55/100 g). Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) s. 88 allows ‘community beautification’ on council verges with 24 h notice (email suffices). Include your council’s biodiversity officer in the CC line – they love free labour and will often supply extra seed. Target Sydney to Melbourne rail corridors.
NZ – North Island
Mix: Kowhai, Manuka, Hebe (Koanga Institute – NZ$42/50 g). NZTA State Highway Guide 2021: ‘community wildflower planting welcomed on state highway berms.’ Add a handful of clover for instant ground cover and nitrogen fixing. Focus on Auckland to Wellington routes.
Pro tips for maximum impact:
1. Mix seed 1:10 with dry sand or vermiculite for even broadcast.
2. One kilo seeds a tennis-court size (260 m²).
3. Rake lightly or walk over the area to press seed into soil.
4. Photograph before/after; upload to iNaturalist – citizen science that feeds national biodiversity databases and gives you standing if anyone complains.
5. Mark your patch with a small wooden stake painted in council-approved colours (usually green or brown) – makes it look official and discourages mowing crews.
6. Repeat every autumn and spring – perennial mixes self-seed after year two.
One person seeding 500 m² per year supports 25,000 bee visits. One hundred people in one suburb = 2.5 million bee visits. That’s how you rebuild the food web one verge at a time.