Bees and other pollinators are vital to growing lots of our favourite foods and for plants to flourish in our fields and gardens.

It is Bees’ Needs Week from 8th to 14th July 2019 and whether you are a farmer, a gardener or a manager of urban or amenity spaces, there is something you can do to help support our valuable insect pollinators.

There are five simple actions you can take to help pollinators and make sure their populations are sustained:

1. Grow more flowers, shrubs and trees – our mature and exotic plants give long flowering periods for bees and insects.
2. Let your garden grow wild – we have wildflower meadows located throughout our campuses to encourage biodiversity.
3. Cut your grass less often – we ensure refuge strips are left uncut along campus watercourses to encourage wildlife.
4. Don’t disturb insect nest and hibernation spots – we practise sympathetic maintenance regimes and have installed bug hotels and insect palaces throughout our campuses.
5. Think carefully about whether to use pesticides – we use Integrated Pest Management to minimise the use of pesticides.