New World is on a mission to rescue our bees

New World is on a mission to rescue our bees

· Little Garden is back for 2017 with bee-friendly seedlings
· Butterflies will also benefit from millions of new plants in New Zealand gardens
· The campaign launches September 4 and looks to smash all previous records

New World’s Little Garden campaign is back for 2017 promising even more happiness for New Zealanders of all ages and stages. There are 23 different seed pots in a stunning collection, many of which are designed to attract bees and butterflies which pollinate our gardens and crops.

Steve Anderson, Managing Director Foodstuffs New Zealand says, “Last year’s Little Garden campaign generated an unbelievable response from our customers. I know many adults and children who, 12 months later, are still harvesting fresh vegetables from the seedlings they earned shopping at New World. Even now members of the public are sending us pictures of their gardens or delicious meals they have prepared as a result of Little Garden.”

“Our focus on bees this year is driven by global pressure on one of the world’s hardest working animals. Pollinating bees are increasingly affected by pesticides, disease and lack of vegetation. By distributing literally millions of seeds through Little Garden we’ll be giving bees and butterflies a helping hand,” says Anderson. “Many of the fruits and vegetables we sell in store need pollination, as does pretty much everything we export from New Zealand including avocados, asparagus, broccoli, cucumbers, citrus fruit, peaches, kiwifruit and cherries. It goes even further; we need bees for clover and alfalfa, which are fed to our dairy, beef and lamb stock.”

Key to the campaign’s success in 2016 was a huge education programme delivered through primary schools up and down the country by the Ministry of Done. 2017 will see this ramped up with schools receiving a tray of seedling pots, 288 Leafcutter Bee Houses and Bumble Bee Nesting Boxes made in Timaru by Creative Woodcraft. Each Leafcutter Bee house comes with a supply of cocoons for school children to look after. The bees will then return the favour by pollinating the school garden. Leafcutter bees do not sting and are prolific pollinators – proven to be nine times more effective than honey bees.

Putting the polish on the 2017 New World Little Garden campaign has been a labour of love for all sorts of suppliers including John McCullough from the Egmont Seed Company in Taranaki.

The 2016 campaign generated a wave of popularity for New World supermarkets with sales growth of nearly 6% which is staggering. Customers loved the campaign which inspired Kiwis to grow their own food, get children eating vegetables and encouraging them to be interested in the environment. Anderson says, “We believe this year’s Little Garden will create even more of an impact – and what’s more, the bees and butterflies will thank us for it.”

New World Little Garden is in store from 4 September until 22 October, 2017. For more information head to www.littlegarden.co.nz.

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