Bee Inspired: Sky Gardening Workshop Brings Community Together for World Bee Day

This weekend, green-fingered customers, colleagues, and residents came together at Waterhead Park’s Veg in the Park—a vibrant community growing hub in Oldham—for the second Sky Gardening Workshop. Sky Gardening is a free competition taking place across Greater Manchester this summer, giving our customers at Littlemoor House and Montgomery House, the chance to transform their balcony or window ledge into a thing of natural beauty.

The workshop was held in celebration of World Bee Day (20 May), a day dedicated to recognising the crucial role bees and other pollinators play in keeping both people and the planet healthy.

Attendees of all ages had the opportunity to get hands-on by creating their own window boxes, balcony planters, and hanging baskets, filled with colourful, in-season flowers and plants designed to bloom beautifully throughout the summer. The aim was not only to brighten up homes and gardens but to also support local biodiversity.

Naomi Martin Smith, Stronger Communities Manager, shared her thoughts on the event: “It’s a fantastic venue — we’re surrounded by nature, with fresh local produce grown by volunteers and the team behind Veg in the Park. To mark World Bee Day, we’ve been learning about how bees and pollination support biodiversity, and how local communities can play a vital role in helping the environment thrive through projects like this one.”

Gemma Hering, a customer and resident at Littlemoor House, also enjoyed the day: “Today has been a lovely day out. The children and I have had a good time and we’re looking forward to seeing our planters grow. It’s great to be involved in community projects like this, where the entire family can learn new skills and how we can help the local environment.”

This year’s World Bee Day theme, “Bee inspired by nature to nourish us all,” shines a spotlight on how pollinators help restore ecosystems, conserve biodiversity, and ensure food security and nutrition.

Naomi added: “We’re working with many community groups on a range of initiatives to boost biodiversity and support pollinators like bees. Our goal is to inspire local people to take an active role in caring for their environment."

Other initiatives we are supporting include, community-led planting activities like wildflower bombing during the Great British Spring Clean, land restoration projects such as the one at Day Drive, ‘No Mow May’, and a variety of events across Oldham — we are passionate about our communities and encouraging more projects like this that help bring people together.

Encouraging and enabling biodiversity is a key part of our sustainability strategy, and we report on these efforts as part of our SHIFT sustainability accreditation.