Boost for South Downs National Park’s bees
March 11, 2025
Efforts to create new areas of wildflowers to help bees and butterflies have received a huge boost.
UK National Parks has announced a two-year partnership with Howdens, a leading trade kitchen supplier, to support nature recovery.
In the South Downs, Howdens will support the Bee Lines project, which is creating new networks of wildflowers to help pollinators move through the landscape.
Over 100 hectares, or 160 football pitches, of wildflower meadow has so far been created – with more on the way thanks to the support of Howdens.
The project is helping iconic species such as the bumblebee and Adonis blue.
Jan Knowlson, Biodiversity Officer for the South Downs National Park, said: “Bees are essential to healthy ecosystems and by pollinating flowers they create food for other wildlife and, of course, humans.
“In fact, one out of every three mouthfuls of our food depends on pollinators such as bees.
“Bees have been on the decline across the UK for many years, so it’s wonderful to receive this support from Howdens which will mean we can help nature bounce back by creating even more wildflower habitats.”
Meanwhile, Howdens will also be supporting “GrubsUp” in the North York Moors National Park, helping to create ‘insect super-highways’ by restoring habitats.
Spanning 10 per cent of Great Britain’s land area, the 15 National Parks are crucial to sustaining biodiversity, protecting wildlife, and combating climate change. By teaming up with like-minded businesses such as Howdens, the National Parks can take immediate action to protect and restore these vital landscapes.
Claire Toomey, Programme Lead for Howdens, said: “We are committed to achieving net zero and want to continue to support the management of natural resources as part of our road to zero initiative. We have chosen to support National Parks due to its national reach but with targeted projects at a local level.”
Bee Lines is run by the South Downs Trust, the official charity of the National Park. To donate visit this webpage.