Nectarworks award leaves North Pennines AONB buzzing

A PROJECT that has changed the outlook for bees and butterflies from bleak to blooming marvellous has won a national conservation award.

The North Pennines AONB Partnership’s Nectarworks project was judged ahead of competitors from across England and Wales to win the Bowland Award.

The annual award is given for the best project, best practice or outstanding contribution to the wellbeing of an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The Nectarworks project officially ends this month so the Bowland Award, which was presented at the National Association for AONBs’ annual conference in Winchester, is timely recognition for four years of inventive working practices that will have long-lasting benefits in the North Pennines and beyond.

Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), Northumbrian Water and Teesdale Action Partnership, Nectarworks focusses on the enhancement, restoration and celebration of flower-rich habitats and the pollinating insects that depend upon them for food.

Chris Woodley-Stewart, director of the AONB Partnership, said: “We’re delighted to win this award.

“The project has involved practical conservation, surveying, oral histories, education and training and it engaged literally thousands of different people – farmers, school children, beekeepers, volunteers, smallholders and other local residents – in looking after and celebrating meadows and pollinators.”

Since Nectarworks began in 2013, the project has seen many notable achievements. From forming a partnership with Kew Gardens that saw rare seeds from the North Pennines preserved, through to an oral history initiative that included interviewing beekeepers from across the region, resulting in a film that documented more than 100 years of the unusual pastime.

Mr Woodley-Stewart added: “Everyone involved, from staff to volunteers and members of the community, should be really proud because they all made it a success.

“We’re also the first double winner of the Bowland Award, having won it for our Altogether Archaeology project a few years ago.”

The North Pennines AONB Partnership recently announced a successor to Nectarworks, in a bid to continue creating a nectar-rich network. Plugging The Gaps will see volunteers collect, harvest and sow seeds in areas where flowers are in decline.

To get involved contact Dr Ruth Starr-Keddle on 01388 528801 or email ruth@north penninesaonb.org.uk