The UK’s leading open space management company, Meadfleet, is celebrating making it through to the finals of two categories in this year’s UK Housing Awards. Their Bee Friendly initiative is up for top prize in the Campaign of the Year award, recognising Meadfleet’s efforts to create additional habitats for bees and other pollinators. They are also shortlisted for Innovator of Year, in recognition of their industry leading sustainable approach to open space management.
Meadfleet are committed to providing a sustainable open space management option for developers and with the introduction of Biodiversity Net Gain this will be more crucial than ever. Their Bee Friendly initiative is a perfect example of how they are already creating, enhancing and monitoring wildlife habitats on the open spaces they manage. Meadfleet work closely with Buglife, the UK’s leading insect charity to help ensure the success of their work.
As part of their Bee Friendly campaign Meadfleet have committed to planting:
- 30,000m2 of meadow to replace some of what has been lost in the UK (97% of wildflower meadows have been wiped out since the 1930s)
- 1km of new hedgerow including native shrub and tree species to provide nectar in spring, berries in autumn and natural habitats for birds and mammals
- 70,000 new bulbs in a mix of species which provide nectar over many months
- Donating 2000 bee hotels to customers
The outputs of Meadfleet’s work to enhance open spaces for biodiversity result in other key benefits. Meadows can play an important role in our battle against climate change as permanent grasslands hold approximately one third of the earth’s terrestrial carbon. As our climate changes and our winters become warmer and wetter meadows can act as a vital resource for storing water. Meadow vegetation and soils can hold rainwater and delay the runoff into streams and rivers. Creating additional meadow areas helps mitigate the effects of climate change.
Meadfleet engage their customers and local communities in their activities via a range of communications, resources and giveaways including 1000’s of bee hotels and wildlife friendly seeds.
In taking a pro-active approach to managing open spaces on residential developments sustainably, Meadfleet believe they can have a significant impact in supporting biodiversity and the environment. Providing developers, local authorities and landowners with a solution to the forthcoming management of Biodiversity Net Gain requirements and meeting the industries need for sustainable partnerships.
Last year, Meadfleet’s Bee Friendly campaign was recognised by CIRIA, winning Pollinator of The Year in the Big Biodiversity Challenge Awards. It has also been shortlisted in Business Green Leaders Nature-Based Project of the Year 2022.
Paul Cassidy, Ecology and Conservation Manager at Meadfleet said:
“At Meadfleet we are focussed on taking a responsible approach to open space management. With thousands of acres of open space in our care we are committed to maximising biodiverse habitat opportunities to support our nation’s wildlife. Our aim is to create a legacy of sustainable green spaces for our customers and future generations. We are delighted that our sustainable approach to open space management has been recognised in the UK Housing Awards, acknowledging our efforts to reduce our impact on the environment and increase important wildlife habitats.”
Buglife’s Director of Fundraising and Communications, Paul Hetherington commented:
“It’s commendable to see a management company going above and beyond to help support vital pollinating insects by providing additional habitats and resources whilst engaging and educating their customers throughout the campaign ( . . . ) If only other management companies would take a leaf from the Meadfleet book we could be more confident of a sustainable future for our pollinators.”