Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Holland covers hundreds of bus stops with plants as gift to honeybees

Shelters support biodiversity while also capturing dust to improve air quality and storing rainwater

Chiara Giordano
Thursday 11 July 2019 11:21 BST
Comments
Holland covers hundreds of bus stops with plants as gift to honeybees

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The roofs of hundreds of bus stops have been covered in plants as a gift to honeybee, by a city in the Netherlands.

Mainly made up of sedum plants, a total of 316 have been covered in greenery in Utrecht.

The shelters not only support the city’s biodiversity, such as honey bees and bumblebees, but they also help capture fine dust and store rainwater.

The roofs are looked after by workers who drive around in electric vehicles, and the bus stops have all been fitted with energy-efficient LED lights and bamboo benches.

They are just one of a number of measures Utrecht has introduced in a bid to improve air quality.

The city aims to introduce 55 new electric buses by the end of the year and have “completely clean public transport” by 2028.

The electricity used to power the buses will come directly from Dutch windmills.

Utrecht also runs a scheme which allows residents to apply for funding to transform their own roofs into green roofs.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in