£16,500 awarded to Bee1 Community for Pollinator Patch Challenge
We are delighted to announce that Bee1 Community has been awarded £16,500 to deliver its inspiring Pollinator Patch Challenge across the Pen y Cymoedd area.
The project will empower schools, residents, and local businesses to design and create pollinator-friendly green spaces – from small garden patches to larger community habitats – helping to reverse biodiversity loss while improving access to nature and supporting community wellbeing. Participants will be guided through hands-on workshops, practical advice, seed kits, and a free digital learning platform featuring interactive lessons, STEM-based resources, and tools to explore and monitor local biodiversity.
Bee1’s approach responds to the urgent need to protect pollinators, which are in significant decline due to habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change, and disease. Research shows that even small wildflower areas can have a powerful environmental impact, supporting far greater levels of plant and invertebrate biodiversity compared to traditional grass lawns.
The project aims to engage around 40 schools and approximately 8,000 pupils across the region, alongside residents and businesses. It will deliver free, curriculum-linked learning resources, encourage outdoor learning and STEM engagement, and promote long-term positive action for nature.
As Bee1 explain: “The Pollinator Patch Challenge is all about getting local people to design and create a pollinator-friendly green space, however big or small, to encourage pollinators and biodiversity in the area, alongside getting people outdoors in nature to support wellbeing.”
This exciting initiative will help create more wildlife-friendly spaces across Pen y Cymoedd, strengthen community connections, improve wellbeing through nature-based activity, and inspire lasting action to protect biodiversity for future generations.
The Fund was established by energy company Vattenfall to benefit the communities hosting the Pen y Cymoedd wind farm across the upper Neath, Afan, Rhondda and Cynon Valleys. It exists to support local people, groups and organisations to invest in themselves, their ideas and their communities.
The Community Fund has a substantial annual budget that is index-linked, meaning it increases in line with inflation. As an example, this equated to around £2.5 million in 2025. The Fund will continue to support communities until 2043, creating long-term opportunities for growth, resilience and positive change.
The Fund is managed by an independent, locally based not-for-profit Community Interest Company. It is overseen by a Board of Directors with strong local connections and delivered by a small but dedicated staff team with extensive community engagement experience. We are here to help ensure the Fund delivers on the vision and priorities of local communities.
Over the next 10 years, the Fund is focusing on investment in people, places and businesses — helping the Valleys to thrive, driving bold ideas, supporting transformation and creating lasting impact for current and future generations.