Supporting nature recovery and biodiversity restoration, while engaging employees with nature.
In February 2025, the National Parks announced a new two-year partnership with Howdens, the UK’s number 1 trade kitchen supplier, to support nature recovery and biodiversity restoration across some of the UK’s most treasured landscapes.
The collaboration aims to enhance local ecosystems and contribute to urgent climate action by focusing on two vital projects: GrubsUp! in the North York Moors National Park and Bee Lines in the South Downs National Park.
With the fifteen National Parks spanning c.10% of Great Britain’s land area, these landscapes play a crucial role in protecting wildlife, mitigating climate change, and sustaining biodiversity. By teaming up with Howdens, this partnership aims to create positive environmental change, increase public engagement, and promote both environmental stewardship and personal wellbeing.
National Parks across the UK face increasing pressure from climate change, loss of biodiversity, and habitat degradation.
Despite their importance in sustaining wildlife and providing natural resources, our National Parks need enhanced support for conservation efforts. Specifically, there is a need for projects that restore vital wildlife sites, create pollinator corridors, and engage local communities in environmental action.
The partnership with Howdens focuses on two key initiatives aimed at addressing biodiversity loss and habitat restoration
The first project, GrubsUp! in the North York Moors National Park, is dedicated to restoring and connecting wildlife sites along the A170 corridor, which links Thirsk to Scarborough. The project aims to create ‘insect super-highways’ by improving habitats for pollinators and other wildlife, boosting invertebrate populations, and facilitating species migration. Additionally, it includes landscape tree planting and the restoration of traditional orchards with wildflowers.
GrubsUp! also actively engages local communities, collaborating with a Men’s Sheds charity group to create wildlife homes from timber offcuts donated by Howdens, with schools and scout groups helping assemble these homes.
The second initiative, Bee Lines in the South Downs National Park, focuses on restoring vital wildflower corridors for pollinators like bees and butterflies, which are essential for healthy ecosystems and food production. The project involves community-led planting of native wildflowers to enhance biodiversity and combat the decline of pollinator populations.
Over the next two years, these efforts are expected to restore large areas of land, benefiting invertebrate populations and enhancing biodiversity in the region.
Meanwhile, Bee Lines has successfully restored over 100 hectares of wildflower meadows, providing crucial food sources for pollinators like bees and butterflies. This project is steadily growing, boosting ecosystem resilience and biodiversity across the South Downs.
In addition to these environmental impacts, the partnership actively engages Howdens’ employees, fostering greater sustainability awareness and encouraging participation in environmental initiatives throughout the company.
Founded in 1995 with just 14 depots, Howdens has grown to be the UK’s number one trade kitchen supplier* having delivered over six million fitted kitchens to the UK market. Now with over 850 depots nationwide, Howdens offers a vast product range from local stock, with experts found at every depot.
Howdens design kitchens to suit every home, but above all else Howdens believes in expert craftmanship. Selling only direct to the trade ensures that Howdens products are installed to the highest standard. This is backed by a 25-year guarantee on kitchen cabinets as standard.
Howdens rigid kitchen cabinets have received a Which? Best Buy every year since April 2021 and its handleless kitchen cabinets received a Which? Best Buy Award in 2023 and again in 2024. Howdens’ Bridgemere Kitchen was awarded Best Classic Kitchen Range in the Ideal Home Awards 2024. Howdens was also highly commended for Best Use of Colour for their Paint to Order timber kitchen collections, Chilcomb and Elmbridge.
In 2023, Howdens expanded into the fitted bedroom category with a range of stylish and practical storage solutions that can be easily configured to suit individual lifestyles and spaces. Cabinets come with a 25-year guarantee for confidence that they are built to last. Howdens is the exclusive supplier of the UK’s much-loved appliance brand, Lamona, offering a wide range of cooking, cooling, laundry and dishwashing appliances.
*Source: Mintel, September 2023, UK Kitchens and Kitchen Furniture: Inc Impact of Covid-19.
National Parks Partnership works with leading organisations to deliver nature recovery, social impact and climate action at national scale.
Through a partnerships spanning a few to all fifteen UK National Parks, we help businesses move from ambition to demonstrating real and measurable impact.
Whether you are exploring your first partnership, or looking to deepen existing commitments as part of a wider partnerships portfolio, our team will work with you to shape a partnership aligned to your organisation’s goals, governance and reporting needs.
Share a few details below and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss partnership opportunities across the UK National Parks.
Partnering with the National Parks brings our technology together with on-the-ground initiatives to make a real impact.
Importantly, our research not only shows that people want to engage more with nature, but that they expect businesses to play their part too, so we are proud to help meet that challenge.
Nicki Lyons, Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer, VodafoneThree
