WLT fosters relationships with companies from a broad variety of sectors who are united in their drive to do business differently. Our corporate partners are demonstrating a commitment to putting nature first in business decisions and are working towards best practice in their industry. One such company is Flow Hive, who have been partnered with WLT since 2021 and are making waves in the world of honey and beekeeping.
Cedar Anderson and his dad Stuart spent 10 years inventing the Flow Hive, launching it to the world with a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign in 2015. Their innovation would revolutionise backyard beekeeping, allowing honey to be harvested directly from a beehive without disturbing the bees. Flow Hive’s generous support of WLT’s Buy an Acre programme has benefitted our partners in Argentina, Brazil, Kenya and most recently South Africa, helping WLT’s partners to achieve great things. This includes offering protection to Argentinean Patagonia’s Somuncurá Plateau which safeguards the Critically
Endangered and micro-endemic amphibian El Rincon Stream Frog which lives there. Flow Hive’s donations to Buy an Acre have also gone towards conserving South Africa’s rare Renosterveld habitat which is home to over 500 plant species and offers a critical breeding habitat for the Endangered Black Harrier, one of South Africa’s rarest birds.
From humble beginnings in a shed near Byron Bay, Australia, Cedar and Stu’s company Flow has grown to encompass a global community of customers and supporters. The company’s founders have deep environmentalist roots — Stu took part in some of the first ever rainforest protection protests and Cedar had once flown a paraglider for Greenpeace in Sumatra. This concern for nature underpins an essential part of Flow’s mission — to advocate for bees (there are over 20,000 species of bees worldwide) and other pollinators that play an essential role in sustaining life on Earth.
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are just one species of more than 100,000 invertebrate species that pollinate plants (including beetles, moths and flies). Credit: Flow Hive. Credit: Flow Hive
A key part of this eco-centric ethos is its “Billions of Blossoms” programme, through which the company partners with charities and NGOs to protect and create biodiverse pollinator habitat. 50% of the profits from Flow’s online beekeeping course are directed to partner organisations running high quality conservation and reforestation projects worldwide. WLT were grateful to have been among the recipients of the inaugural “Billions of Blossoms” funding round in 2021.
Support from Flow to WLT continued through 2022 and 2023, and the company states that its dedicated partnership to the Trust is because of its “exceptional track record protecting threatened habitats in a wide range of regions and thorough approach to conservation (the patronage of Sir David Attenborough also helped to solidify our admiration!)”.
The Honey Flow Hive. Credit: Flow Hive
In all of Flow’s operations it is committed to minimising its ecological footprint — its factory runs on solar electricity, and it upcycles the timber offcuts from manufacturing “Flow Hives” to create pollinator houses for native bees. Having obtained a B-Corp certification in 2018, the company was since included in the environment category of B-Corp’s “Best in the World” list in 2019 and 2021, emphasising its ongoing efforts to make a positive impact on the planet.
WLT is proud to be supported by Flow, a company committed to protecting biodiverse pollinator habitats and that understands the importance of shifting business models towards positive action. To find out more about our corporate partners or how to become one, visit our web page.