Penningtons Manches Cooper partners with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to help reverse declining bumblebee populations

Penningtons Manches Cooper is funding a new four-year project from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to help reverse declining bumblebee populations.

Alongside the prestigious Heritage Fund and Kusuma Trust UK, the firm is investing in B.E.E., short for 'Buzzing in the East End', which will initially work across four southeast London boroughs to restore wild pollinators now endangered due to habitat loss.

The project will be a mainstay of the firm's responsible business programme to drive positive change in local communities by engaging in a programme of activity that will harness the power of its people's combined volunteering hours (the equivalent of three working days per year for each partner and employee).

Dr Nikki Gammans, conservation manager at the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and B.E.E. project lead explains why the project will focus on bumblebees, not honeybees, a distinction key to the charity's work:

"In London, we now have an overcapacity of honeybees, which are a domesticated species and not in decline. Competition for resources makes this unsustainable. Meanwhile, our native bumblebee populations continue to decline – this is what we need to reverse."

In phase one, the project will collaborate with local landowners and residents to search out rare bumblebees. The four boroughs being targeted are Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, and Lewisham. In phase two, the project will move north of the river.

"Of the 24 bumblebee species that exist in the UK, seven are classified as threatened, and two have become extinct," says Nikki. "Three rare species are present in southeast and east London and that's where we will help, by planting native plants and building natural habitats."

To establish the current state of habitats for wild pollinators and what they need to survive, the charity will host BeeWalks where anyone with a willingness to learn basic identification skills can become a BeeWalker. This is one of the simple but impactful ways the firm will contribute to conservation efforts, working alongside local communities.

Penningtons Manches Cooper's office in Piraeus is working with a similar organisation in Greece, the Bee Camp. The firm will continue to develop partnerships with local protection projects across its international locations where opportunities are available.

Aimee Burns, sustainability manager at Penningtons Manches Cooper said, " Declining biodiversity is a top three risk to the global economy: it impacts everyone. We're proud to partner with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust on this vital initiative, rooted in London but with insights and impact that extend globally. While the project highlights the essential role bumblebees and other wild pollinators play in our daily lives, we’re also committed to supporting like-minded organisations internationally, including the Bee Camp in Athens, as part of our broader mission to champion biodiversity and environmental resilience across borders."

Find out more about the Bumblebee Conservation Trust here and the Bee Camp here.