CyrusOne : joins “Orchards in the Community” to plant 1000 orchards across Ireland

CyrusOne is pleased to announce its participation in Host in Ireland's "Orchards in the Community" initiative. Orchards play a key role in providing an early food source for struggling bees. To help protect the bees and increase pollination, we are part of 52 pledgers and over 90 schools and community groups planting in excess of 1,000 mixed fruit orchards all over Ireland.

As part of the initiative, CyrusOne have planted several orchards alongside the existing wetland area and amongst the flourishing wildflower meadow at its Dublin I data center campus, with the remainder going to local communities.

Orchards provide vital green spaces in our cities and towns, where people are encouraged to interact with nature either through becoming custodians of the trees or by simply being around them and enjoying their shade, beauty and fruit. They are also important habitats as the natural life cycle of fruit trees provides food sources for pollinators and other species throughout the year. With "Orchards in the Community", orchards are being planted in every single county on the island of Ireland - both in the Republic and Northern Ireland - making this an all Ireland effort.

"'Orchards in the Community' is helping to create 'pollinator pit stops' across the island. One third of our 99 wild bee species are at risk of extinction. Each year as they flower, these orchards will provide them with vital food. In return, by pollinating the flowers, the bees will ensure we have lots of fruits to enjoy in the autumn," said Dr Úna FitzPatrick co-founder and project manager of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. "This scale of this initiative provides us with a unique opportunity to track change. By planting uniform orchards in multiple locations within the one growing season, we can assess which insects visit in different regions, and better understand which areas have the greatest abundance and diversity of pollinators remaining."

"Orchards have played an important role in communities for many centuries, providing a focal point, a gathering space, and a place where people and nature successfully work together to create abundant harvests," said Garry Connolly, founder, Host in Ireland. "That spirit of community is alive and well with 'Orchards in the Community' as organisations like CyrusOne come together with biodiversity groups, schools, colleges, Tidy Towns and others across Ireland to tackle challenges like biodiversity loss to save Ireland's pollinators."

"We're delighted to be continuing our journey with Host in Ireland through this all-important project, and know just how valuable orchards and green spaces are for our wider society and the planet," said Mark Moloney, Director Interconnection Solutions and Sustainability at CyrusOne. "The Orchards in the Community project is set to offer an incredible lifeline to the bee population across Ireland and the fact we're taking this nationwide is really exciting."