Given that the Battle of Hastings took place in meadow fields, it is fitting that the town is going back to its roots with its support for wild flowers and the pollinators who rely on them. Last year, I organised a Parish Council conference at Great Dixter in Northiam. Head Gardener, Fergus Garrett, encouraged our local parish and town councils to consider how we could turn our verges, roundabouts and civil spaces in to havens for nature. Battle Town Council under the enthusiastic leadership of Mayor, David Furness, have taken this idea and, quite literally, planted it in the town's roundabout.

The team now have ambitious plans to turn 5 acres behind Battle and Langton Primary School in to a summer meadow. It is fitting that this project will be behind the school because it is the children who should drive us all to protect the environment for their generation. I joined the Mayor of Battle and Keith Datchler OBE, a national pioneer of the restoration of wildflower meadows, for an assembly at the school. Along with the inspirational Headteacher, Simon Hughes, we talked to the children about how they and their families can do their bit for our pollinators and address the drastic decline in many species. As a beekeeper myself, I have taken the challenge to Parliament, where I am the Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Bees and Pollinators. Parliament needs to do what Battle has done and turn some of our space over to a natural landscape. Our challenge is to get a hive in Parliament, near the visitors entrance, so we can not only talk about others delivering for nature and pollinators but lead by example and inspire others to do likewise.