Heart of Worcestershire College win Bees’ Needs Champion Awards 2025 from DEFRA
- Susan
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Heart of Worcestershire College (HoW College) has been named a winner in the Bees’ Needs Champions Awards 2025, a national recognition scheme led by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). HoW College was recognised in the ‘communities’ category for its efforts in enhancing pollinator friendly habitats and encouraging biodiversity across its campuses including Bromsgrove, Redditch and Worcester.
The Bees’ Needs Champion Awards celebrate the work of organisations in supporting pollinators, particularly bees, through practical environmental projects. HoW College stood out for its commitment to rewilding campuses and engaging students and the wider community in sustainability and emphasising the importance of these projects.
In 2023/24, HoW College’s Eco Group, designated that all campuses should be ‘safe and nurturing places for wildlife’, which now underpins the estate strategy and its ‘planet’ strategic pillar.
Key initiatives that earned the award include:
Planting 10 fruit trees on each campus with the aim to establish full orchards by 2026.
Creating and annually resowing wildflower areas.
Planting a 600 tree Tiny Forest at the Bromsgrove campus.
Stopping the use of pesticides across campuses.
Establishing bug houses, hedgehog feeding stations, and wildlife corridors.
Launching events, volunteer forest maintenance activities, and educational outreach, including sessions with local nursery schools.
Peter Robinson, vice principal – curriculum development, HE, adult, and sustainability at HoW College, said: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to be recognised as a Bees’ Needs Champion. This award celebrates the collective dedication of our staff and students who believe in creating learning environments that are not only enriching for people, but for wildlife too. By turning our campuses into thriving ecosystems, we are not only supporting pollinators – we are also educating the next generation about the importance of sustainable living and shared responsibility for the natural world.’
HoW College has already achieved a silver award in the Hedgehog Friendly Campus Scheme and was awarded league winner in the Planet Earth Games. With each campus listed as a natural network in the National Education Nature Park initiative, the college continues to showcase its environmental leadership in both education and the local community.
