Co-op suppliers set up ‘bee roads’

Farmer suppliers to the Co-op have planted more than 1,000 miles of hedgerows to form part of a network of ‘bee’ roads across the UK.

Using its new environmental-impact measurement tool Enviro-Map, the Co-op says that seven different producer groups have created the following environmental features:

  • 1000 miles (1633 km) of hedgerows which are actively managed across the farming groups
  • 1,400 hectares of native, coniferous and broadleaf woodland
  • 455 hectares of watercourses and wetlands
  • 116 hectares of wildflower meadows
  • 100 devices, such as bird boxes, bee hives and beetle banks, on farms to encourage wildlife

Matt Hood, Co-op’s trading director, said: “The need to create a more sustainable approach to farming and food production is just as important as producing high-quality; fairly-priced food and we can only achieve this with regular and reliable measurement of our producers. We are delighted to see that in year one alone, they are already offsetting their farming practises by contributing heavily to improved biodiversity levels which are so utterly critical to the air we breathe and the water we drink.”

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The post Co-op suppliers set up ‘bee roads’ appeared first on Hort News on 21 June 2018.