World Environment Day 2024

As we mark World Environment Day 2024, we cannot turn back time, but we can grow forests, revive water sources, and restore soils.

Our environmental team have been busy bees on sites this month in the lead-up to World Environment Day, checking in on our honey beehives, carrying out biodiversity surveys and ensuring our tree planting schedule is on target.

We met up with our Beekeeper, Alan Rea (or the Bee Man, as we affectionately call him), at our Craigantlet and North Down Quarry to check the health of the hives. Alan was happy to see our chosen location for the hives thriving, with the bees doing well and the Queen busy laying. His expertise and dedication are invaluable to our environmental efforts.

Our honeybees and other wildlife have been thriving in our locations. They collect food from our natural and semi-natural habitats and add pollination value to the local environment.

At Croaghan Quarry, we’ve kick-started biodiversity and habitat regeneration by designating areas not for development and have planted over 14,000 native trees, broadleaf and 6,000 conifers. This year, we added another site, Ballynahinch, into the tree planting scheme, and another 1,800 trees were planted.

As part of our Biodiversity Action Plan, these actions make us proud to be part of the solution to regenerate pollinator-friendly woodlands and restore habitats to create a healthy environmental future for Northern Ireland.

Thank you to NI Farm Forestry and Alan Rea (Bee Man) from Belfast and the District Beekeepers Association for helping us to deliver generation restoration.