Sovereign Shopping Centre has recently expanded its biodiversity and ESG strategy.
Owned by NewRiver REIT and managed by Workman, Sovereign Shopping Centre is at the heart of Dorset’s Boscombe in Bournemouth, boasting a range of national retailers including Boots, Lidl and Wilko.
The onsite team at the centre take their environmental responsibility seriously, and have recently installed four planters within the mall. These were planted with bamboo, which releases 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees.
The team also introduced six beehives and a bee garden on the roof of the centre, next to the bee location. Every year this is planted with pollinating plants to feed the bees, which in turn produce honey, which local food-growing charity Grounded Community sell to help fund the project.
Working with the same charity, the team installed a Rocket Composter, taking the food waste and waste such as hair cuttings from the centre’s hairdressers, retailers and cafes to produce compost, which is used in the bee garden to help grow the plants and within the planters in the centre. In the coming year, with the support of the Bournemouth Coastal BID, the team is looking at introducing two trees into the mall spaces.
There are also plans to create a Micro Greens Project, using the centre’s glass atriums which work like greenhouses. On a balcony around the main atrium, using stainless steel shelving units, the team plans to grow micro greens the whole year round. Starting small at first with around four shelving units, this project will be expanded if successful. Again, the project will be operated in conjunction with Grounded Community, also using the compost produced on site.
See the video of the bees at Sovereign Shopping Centre in action here:
