Great Northern and Bee Friendly Trust join forces to give Nature a helping hand at stations

(Download pictures for each station below)

With one in six species under threat of extinction in the UK, Great Northern is doing its bit to enhance biodiversity on the railway, by making stations more nature friendly.

Great Northern’s parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and the Bee Friendly Trust have just finished creating more than 20 ‘homes for nature’ at six stations: Bayford, Cuffley, Grange Park, Hadley Wood, New Barnet and New Southgate.

Each site has two types of bird boxes, iconic striped bug hotels for solitary insects, and hibernacula – shelters filled with timber and wood to give small animals and insects a place to live during the winter months.

GTR’s environment specialist Eloise Rowan said: “At GTR we're committed to creating a railway for nature by enhancing biodiversity and encouraging nature recovery. Our Homes for Nature initiative is just one way we plan to support a thriving natural environment.

“Nature is in crisis in the UK with the latest State of Nature report detailing that since 1970 UK species have declined around 19% on average and nearly one in six species are now threatened with extinction.

“Our work with the Bee Friendly Trust aims to make our sites a little more friendly for local wildlife, big and small, and help to lessen that threat.”

Dr Luke Dixon, Director at the Bee Friendly Trust, said:“Our rail network gives wonderful opportunities to create homes for nature and provide a network not just for trains, but for wildlife of every kind – from deer to butterflies – to move safely around the country. Great Northern links habitats in the heart of the city to the depths of the countryside.”

GTR has promised to create, or enhance, 100 homes for nature across its network – ranging from bug hotels to wild gardens. Earlier this year it created 20 homes for nature at six stations on the Thameslink route between London and Bedford.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Read here how GTR created 20 homes for nature on the Thameslink route in March 2024.

And read here how GTR also unveiled a tiny train station especially for bugs at London Blackfriars to support more biodiversity.

Earlier still, in 2021, pollinator-friendly plants including lavender, sage, echinacea, verbena and sedums, attractive to bees and other insects, were also planted at the following stations:

• Norfolk: Downham Market
• Bedfordshire: Harlington, Flitwick, Sandy
• Hertfordshire: Elstree & Borehamwood, Royston, Welwyn North
• North London: Alexandra Palace, Bowes Park, Gordon Hill, Mill Hill Broadway, New Barnet, New Southgate, Palmers Green
• South London; Bellingham, Loughborough Junction, Ravensbourne, Wimbledon Chase
• East Sussex: Newhaven Harbour