More than 100 hectares – or 4,000 tennis courts – of lush wildflower habitat are being created in the South Downs National Park to help bees flourish.
The Bee Lines initiative continues to give a helping hand to struggling pollinator populations by creating wildflower havens at farms, community fields, recreation grounds, road verges, schools, and even cemeteries, football and golf clubs.
In the UK, around 13 species of bee have been lost already and another 35 are currently at risk of extinction.
The inspiring campaign launched in 2019 and since then there has been an amazing transformation at sites across Hampshire and Sussex, with carpets of beautiful wildflowers springing up and many sites are now buzzing with bees and butterflies.
The ‘Bee Lines’ effectively create a ‘road system’ for pollinating insects, allowing them to move through the landscape more easily.
To date, the South Downs Trust, the official charity for the National Park, has funded 37 projects and 106 hectares of habitat has been transformed into wildflower oases.
A further eight projects, yet to be confirmed, across Hampshire and Sussex will benefit from more funding later this year.
Jan Knowlson, Biodiversity Officer for the National Park, said: “It’s fantastic to see this network of wildflower corridors really becoming established and there are early signs that bees and butterflies are returning, but there’s still so much more that needs to be done to help pollinators.
“These insects have been on a steep decline across the UK for several decades and are now under threat from climate change and habitat loss, so it’s really important we create more spaces for pollinators to thrive.
“One out of every three mouthfuls of our food depends on pollinators such as bees.
“People can also do their bit to help on a smaller scale by simply creating wilder areas of their gardens and planting some wildflower seeds. Working together we can turn this around and our countryside and towns can once again be buzzing with bees!
“We’d also like to thank every single person and donor who has helped with the fundraising as without them none of this nature recovery work could happen.”
One of the sites benefitting from funding is Blacknest Fields, in Binsted, Hampshire. The site is managed by community volunteers with a focus on creating a haven for all kinds of wildlife, including bees and butterflies.
Sarah Womersley, one of the volunteers, said: “With the help of National Park rangers, we now have a brilliant meadow management regime in place.
“We’re seeing a much more diverse range of flora in the meadows and that in turn is helping our pollinators. Back in 2022 when the site was first opened to the public, there had never been any wildlife recording here at all. Since then, we have a brilliant group of volunteers who record regularly. We’ve seen over 30 species of butterflies on the field, more than 30 species of bees and wasps and over 190 different species of moths. Seeing what Blacknest Fields has become over the past five years has been wonderful.”
Meanwhile, a 1.5-hectare field called Tangletrees, near Graffham, West Sussex, has benefitted from funding and has transformed into a beautiful wildflower meadow.
Landowner Ian Forrest said: “It’s encouraging to see oxeye daisies and other species starting to thrive in the new meadow. Creating habitat takes time, but this grant has given us the chance to make a real start for pollinators and biodiversity. We’re very grateful for the support.”
Bee Lines has been supported by plant conservation charity Plantlife, including providing landowners with bespoke advice on establishing wildflower habitats with the help of meadow expert Matt Pitts.
Bee Lines is part of the wider ReNature campaign, which is aiming to create vital new wildlife habitats across the National Park to fight biodiversity loss.
Bee Lines has been made possible with the support of the many individuals who have donated, as well as Aspinal of London, the Big Green Give Fund, the Boltini Trust, Chalk Cliff Trust, Friends of the South Downs, Howdens, Jude’s, Lawson Trust, Nyetimber, OSB Group, the PIG-in-the-South-Downs, Shanly Foundation, South East Water, Southern Co-op, and founding patrons of the South Downs Trust.
To donate to Bee Lines and ReNature visit southdownstrust.org.uk/
