Bee inspired: why Oslo has put ecological riches at the heart of the city

Norway wants urban gardeners to cultivate wildflowers and keep hives to reverse a decline in biodiversity

On a sloping meadow near the centre of Oslo, red-tailed bumblebees gather pollen from hairy violets, spiders spin webs between maiden's tears while hoverflies buzz between yellow daisies and white yarrow.

Such a bucolic scene might normally be associated more with a rural past than an urban future, but it is part of a thoroughly modern attempt to reverse the decline of bee populations and put biodiversity at the heart of city planning in Norway's capital.