'Compleat' food for pollinators
Staff at The Compleat Food Group in Nottinghamshire have been inspired by their new Gold Investor in Nature business partnership with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and have been busy planting bulbs. Spring ready, they are waiting for their hard work to produce colourful blooms for the pollinators.
In August 2023, Compleat Nature was launched across the Group with the aim of promoting and protecting biodiversity at all of their sites and fully established by 35 enthusiastic nature-lovers across Compleat by October that year. The group works within the local community on a range of projects, including litter picking, and will be increasing biodiversity around sites by planting for pollinators, installing bird boxes, bug and bee hotels, and spreading awareness on the importance of nature recovery and conservation. They have champions based at their sites to help drive local initiatives and encourage more colleagues to get involved.
The Compleat Food Group are active participants in the Wildlife Trust’s 30 Days Wild challenge and their nature champions have been busy ‘wilding’ their sites in Nottingham, including planting hundreds of bulbs next to their offices, they are also monitoring the bees via specialist equipment to understand the impact they are having. As part of this new partnership, The Trust has already visited to provide advice on further opportunities to enhance existing and new habitat for wildlife.
In addition, The Compleat Food Group is eager to engage more staff with nature and highlight the benefits for wellbeing and the local community. Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust will support this through activities such as engagement sessions, Guided Walks around nature reserves, Wild Work Days, and participation in the Summer ‘30 Days Wild’ and Winter ‘12 Days Wild’ challenges.
David Moore, ESG Director at The Compleat Food Group commented “At The Compleat Food Group, we believe in making Food to Feel Good, and that belief doesn’t stop at the plate. It extends to the positive impact we have on people, the planet and our local communities.
“Nature and biodiversity play a vital role in the food system, which is why we’re proud to support Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and play an active role in initiatives such as the Trust’s 30 Days Wild challenge. Through the way we manage our green spaces, we’re helping to enhance biodiversity across our Nottingham sites, including Tottle Bakery and Riverside Bakery.
“We look forward to continuing our work with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust to help create and protect even more welcoming habitats for wildlife.”
Emily Patrick, Partnerships & Trusts Manager, at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust commented “We are pleased to welcome The Compleat Food Group as a business supporter of the Trust, it is great to see the actions they are taking onsite for wildlife and hear about how they are engaging colleagues to get involved both on site and in their local community. Business support like this helps us to care for over 40 nature reserves across Nottinghamshire enabling local people to access and enjoy nature on their doorstep.”
Supporting Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is a great way for local businesses to collaborate and showcase their support for the local environment and community by demonstrating that their business really cares about and is going the “extra mile” for nature! It supports the work that The Trust is doing across Nottinghamshire to achieve its goal “That Nottinghamshire’s people and wildlife are thriving together”.
For more information about Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trusts Business Partnerships go online nottinghamshirewildlife.org/business-partnerships and contact the Trust’s Partnerships and Trust manager Emily Patrick [email protected] for more information.