Bees’ Needs Week – showcasing the importance of pollinators

Environment and climate
An image of a bee on a purple flower

See how farmers are taking actions, both large and small, to create habitats for bees and other insects. 

Defra’s annual Bees’ Needs Week takes place 8–14 July, with an event taking place at the Tower of London organised in partnership with the University of Reading, Historic Royal Palaces and Pollinating London.

The aim of the week is to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, and share ideas, actions and activities that highlight the ways in which everyone can help bees and other pollinators to thrive.

Each year Bees' Needs Champions are celebrated to recognise examples of exceptional initiatives undertaken by local authorities, community groups, farmers and businesses to support pollinators.

How NFU members are looking after bees’ needs

David Newman

David farms 16 acres in a 5-year crop rotation which includes plantings of clover and rye and phacelia which are topped in rotation to always leave flowers for bees. It is a pesticide-free business using bio-controls, companion planting and fleece to keep pests off the crops.

David has set aside a one-acre permanent wildflower patch, two natural bee hives (one log hive and one freedom hive) and a reservoir. A diversity of habitats including unimproved grassland, beetle banks, hedgerows and tracks encourage many pollinators as well as bird species which also help to control pests.

David said: “The significant level of public interest in what we are doing has had a positive impact on the business. There has also been a significant increase in bird life. It is great to see the results all around you for low cost easy initiatives. We did secure some funding from our district council that covered the cost of seed and advice from BeeKind.”

Edward Darling

Edward farms mostly cereals on 200 hectares in East Anglia. He was motivated to get involved in Bees’ Needs as part of a long-term commitment to the stewardship of habitats and associated species typical to the natural area.

He’s extended the use of winter cover crops through the summer to test benchmarking systems for pollinators linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goal for Life on Land. The role of long-term species-rich grassland will have huge value to butterfly populations.

The project, which involved additional seed costs and the advice of ecologists, was funded with help from Affinity Water.

An image of a wildflower strip in a farmer's field

Edward said: “One of the big lessons and benefits of getting involved in the Bees’ Needs project was the range and abundance of bees attracted in the context of wider pollinators and other taxonomic groups. Going forward we’ll do further work with the pollinator monitoring survey to make national benchmarking available.”

Donya Donger

Donya Donger is an arable farmer managing 1,500 acres in Nottinghamshire.

To make the fields on her farm more pollinator friendly, she’s created beetle banks among the crops to allow a safe haven for insects, beetles, and pollinators.

All hedgerows have wider margins than required by cross compliance to ensure that fertilisers and chemicals are kept well away from dykes and hedgerows.

To minimise the impact from spraying crops, drift reduction nozzles are used and buffer zones are followed on all labels.

An image of a woman and two children wearing bee keeper uniforms

All these measures help to protect areas for natural grass and flowers to grow, creating a wildlife corridor around every field.

For less productive corners of fields, phacelia has been grown providing a boost to ecosystems for bees and butterflies. Areas of pollen and nectar mixtures have also been planted under HLS/ELS agreements.

Donya said: “The small changes have made a big difference. Those corners of the field that are not viable to grow crops have become pollinator havens with minimal cost. Do your research and implement what will work for your farm.”

NFU members, join our Environment and climate community to comment

Read more on NFUonline

Read more around the net

This page was first published on 10 July 2023. It was updated on 09 July 2024.


Ask us a question about this page

Once you have submitted your query someone from NFU CallFirst will contact you. If needed, your query will then be passed to the appropriate NFU policy team.

You have 0 characters remaining.

By completing the form with your details on this page, you are agreeing to have this information sent to the NFU for the purposes of contacting you regarding your enquiry. Please take time to read the NFU’s Privacy Policy if you require further information.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.