HOLCIM UK have backed a project to increase the population of bees and other pollinators across the country. The sustainable building solutions provider partnered with the North Wessex Downs Landscape Trust to provide tens of thousands of spring-flowering bulbs.

More than 60,000 bulbs, including Crocus, Grape Hyacinths, Star of Bethlehem, Bluebells, and Snowdrops, were purchased with a grant from Holcim and distributed to community groups for planting during October and early November.

Holcim also sent 1,000 bulbs to their own teams as part of the company’s drive to create wildlife-friendly spaces across its 200-plus UK sites. At its Torr Quarry in Somerset, the company purchased 10,000 bulbs, sharing 7,500 with local groups in Downhead, Cranore, and Nunney, while planting the remainder on site.

Tom Redfern, head of sustainability at Holcim UK, said: ‘We were delighted to support this vital project which empowers communities in this national landscape to create vital biodiversity for our bees and pollinators.

‘A third of all food is pollinator dependent, and when you think that the wild bee population has reduced by a third in the last 30 years, that really demonstrates the type of positive action we need to take to address what is an ongoing nature crisis.’

He continued: ‘We launched our very first company nature strategy last year, which laid out how we aimed to support a nature positive future and how we could help protect, restore and enhance our natural environment. As well as seeking to support communities, as we have in North Wessex, we are also committed to providing places for nature at our sites - from simple flower gardens to bug hotels to planting woodlands and hedgerows and creating wetlands.’

Dr Jemma Batten, director of the North Wessex Downs Landscape Trust, commented: ‘The Landscape Trust was delighted to work with Holcim to provide bee-friendly bulbs to communities across the Downs and beyond, and look forward to seeing the results of our ‘Buzzing in the North Wessex Downs’ campaign this spring and for years to come.’

The North Wessex Downs is a nationally important landscape, characterized by rare chalk grassland and crystal-clear streams, rolling downland and valleys. It straddles Wiltshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire, and is the third largest designated national landscape in the UK.

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