Sussex Green Living receive the Defra National Bees Needs Champions Award from Nature Minister Mary Creagh at RHS Wisley

At Sussex Green Living, we are delighted and honoured to have been recognised at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) National Bees Needs Champions Awards at RHS Wisley on 14 July. Our Pollination Education Station (PES) Trail across Sussex received national recognition for its contribution to supporting pollinators and educating communities about the vital role they play in our environment. 

Seeing our Chair, Elle Runton, and our founder, Carrie Cort, receive the award from Defra Minister for Nature Mary Creagh was a proud moment for everyone involved with the charity. While the award recognises our work, it also celebrates the volunteers, businesses, schools, conservation partners and supporters who have helped turn an idea into a growing movement for nature. 

We launched our Pollination Education Station Trail in March 2024 alongside our Green Business Network, providing a practical way for businesses and communities to take positive action for pollinators, biodiversity and food security. Since then, we have installed 44 Pollination Education Stations across East and West Sussex, creating valuable habitats while inspiring people to learn how they can help protect pollinators. 

Collaboration has been central to this project. We have worked alongside the South Downs National Park, Weald to Wave, Horsham Green Spaces and other conservation groups, helping to connect habitats across the landscape and encouraging a ripple effect of action for nature.

As part of Defra’s Bees Needs Champions Week, from 13 to 19 July, we delivered workshops on wildlife-friendly gardening and sustainable food growing, while also installing our 44th Pollination Education Station at Hailsham Academy. The students became guardians of the station and were named Sussex Green Living Bee Champions. This latest PES design is our first to include an integrated hedgehog house. The school has already created wildlife gardens and hedgehog access points and is now focusing on planting nature corridors and nectar-rich flowers to support pollinators. 

Pollinators are essential to life. One in every three mouthfuls of food depends on bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects, yet these species are facing growing threats. Habitat loss through development and intensive farming, climate change, pesticide use and the decline of flower-rich spaces are contributing to significant population declines. Through education and practical action, we believe everyone can help reverse this trend. 

This project has only been possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters. We are grateful to Greenwood Plants Ltd for donating plants, Horsham Men’s Sheds for building every Pollination Education Station from repurposed pallet wood, and the Chalk Cliff Trust for funding our latest installation. Their support shows what can be achieved when businesses, charities and communities work together. 

Receiving this national award is a wonderful milestone, but our work continues. We are now seeking corporate sponsors, donations and new locations so we can install even more Pollination Education Stations from September onwards. Every station provides another opportunity to create habitat, inspire learning and encourage action for nature. Together, we can help ensure Sussex continues to buzz with life for generations to come. 

Learn more about the Pollination Education Station Trail here https://www.sussexgreenliving.org.uk/solutions/renature/ 

By Carrie Cort