Marks and Spencer has started a new five year ‘Farming with Nature’ collaborative programme to support its Select Farmers to become more resilient to the biggest environmental challenges they face – spanning climate change, biodiversity, soil health and water usage.
As part of this, and to support the British bee population, Marks and Spencer is introducing 30 million bees to 28 UK Select Farm Sites this summer, located across the country from Herefordshire to Hampshire.
Bees contribute to a third of the food eaten by the UK population, but the habitats they depend on like wildflower meadows are dwindling.
Through the Select Farmers programme, which aims to promote more natural habitat on farms and introduce more bees, the company stated that this is “helping to protect the future of these critically important pollinators and will improve the quality of its fresh produce for customers”.
Marks and Spencer bee programme
The journey of the bee programme can be tracked through an interactive blog on the Marks and Spencer website.
The ‘Bee Blog’ will give regular updates from the farms, fed through from expert beekeeper David Wainwright.
Wainwright has been producing top-quality honey for Marks and Spencer for more than 10 years and this summer he’ll be harvesting a unique crop.
Having worked with Marks and Spencer for many years I’m really pleased they’ve taken the initiative to begin this pioneering campaign, which will have such a positive impact on the environment.
“Each Select Farm we’re working with is unique and its produce will benefit the bees, which in turn will ensure the farmers get greater yields on their crops and produce better-quality food for customers due to the thorough pollination the bees provide. It’s a win-win for everyone,” he concluded.
