Devon Local Nature Partnership has launched its ‘Build for Bees’ competition to inspire the public to provide habitats for pollinators.
It was launched at the Devon Outdoor Learning and Sustainability Conference at Buckfast Abbey as part of the ‘Get Devon Buzzing’ campaign.
Prizes include an exclusive tour of Goren Farm near Honiton, memberships to the Devon Wildlife Trust, Buglife and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and wildflower seed packs.
A great activity for schools, the competition aims to encourage the public to get outdoors and to take part in practical...
Devon Local Nature Partnership is aiming to Get Devon Buzzing this month (July) with a month of 'pollinator' themed events across the county.
The first ever Devon Pollinators' Month aims to raise awareness of our bees, butterflies and other insects, many of which are in serious decline.
Events have been organized by a wide range of partners including local farmers, East Devon District Council, Devon Wildlife Trust, National Trust, FWAG SW, Paignton Zoo, Dartmoor Meadows Project and Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust.
An art exhibition examining the importance of bees will be the final exhibition at Spacex’s Preston Street gallery before the organisation relocates to embark on a new way of working.
Twelve top artists will be taking part in Honeyscribe Hive, which examines our ancient relationship with the bee. The project leading up to the exhibition has involved scientists, artists, writers, beekeepers and the public.
More than 400 Exeter primary school children have also taken part. They visited the Princesshay Bee Project and worked with artist and curator Amy Shelton to create their...
Learn how to make your own balms creams and ointments using pure bees wax and honey from Buckfast Abbey's very own bees. Incorporate herbal extracts and essential oils to create your own unique products.
Price: £50 - All materials are included in the price as well as an exclusive information and recipe booklet.
Course tutor – Clare Densley
For all enquiries, contact:
Contact Clare Densley: cdensley@buckfast.org.uk or call 07944 504283
Roy Powney, 78, from Exeter has been honing his bee keeping skills on Princesshay’s rooftop garden which is home to five hives and more than 60,000 bees.
Through Age UK Exeter, Princesshay’s Charity of the Year, Roy has been visiting the roof top garden every Thursday since April. Working alongside Jason Wallis, head bee keeper for Princesshay, Roy has been closely involved in caring for the bees which has been a passion of his from a young age.
Princesshay’s city bee project, now in its third year, continues to thrive on the roof tops of the busy Exeter shopping centre....
The loss of biodiversity caused by monocultures and the widespread use of pesticides is widely acknowledged to be causing honey bee stress and colony losses across the globe. With one of every three bites of food eaten worldwide reported to depend on pollinators, especially bees, for a successful harvest, this has major repercussions in global food supplies. So, it is reassuring to hear of the tremendous efforts being made by Buckfast Abbey’s beekeepers to help buck this trend, through nurturing their own bee populations as well as encouraging more beekeepers-in-the making.
Buglife and other organisations involved in Devon Local Nature Partnership are appealing to Devon's residents to do one simple thing to help bees and other pollinating insects this National Pollinator Week.
Wild bees and other insect pollinators are faced with a perfect storm of pressures which have all led to their decline, these include: a loss of wildflower-rich habitats through the intensification of farming, urban development, and the increased use of pesticides. As a result half of the UK's 27 bumblebee species, two-thirds of our moths and over 70% of our butterflies are in...
Princesshay’s City Bee project has launched a brand new Queen Bee rearing programme as part of the centre’s continued development of its rooftop environmental scheme.
The project, now in its third year, houses 4 hives with approximately 60,000 bees working them daily.
The Queen Bee rearing programme is a new innovative idea for the Princesshay City Bee Project and will be led by head beekeeper Jason Wallis of WeeTree Nurseries. A smaller mating hive has been created for the rearing process and a master colony for raising the initial queen cells. The aim of the new programme...
A new study from the University of Exeter has found that viruses carried by commercial bees can jump to wild pollinator populations with potentially devastating effects.
The researchers are calling for new measures to be introduced that will prevent the introduction of diseased pollinators into natural environments.
Commercial species of honey bee and bumble bee are typically used to pollinate crops such as tomatoes, sweet peppers and oilseed rape. Fast evolving viruses carried by these managed populations have the potential to decimate wild pollinator species, including...
Beekeepers across the South West of England have reported an average yield of 30lbs of honey per colony this year according to the findings of the British Beekeepers Association¹s annual Honey Survey, released today (26 November, 2014).
The survey revealed a substantial 36 per cent increase on the 22lbs per colony reported by South West of England beekeepers in 2013, and is a far cry from the 7lbs per colony nadir of 2012.
The reported yield across the country is 32lbs per colony, a 28 per cent increase on the 25lbs per colony reported in 2013.
