There’s going to be a buzz in Monmouth Town this weekend when Monmouth-based charity and community group, Bees for Development host a free festival in the spacious Chippenham Fields and Nelson Garden on Sunday, August 1.

The Monmouth Bee Festival will celebrate the importance of bees while giving festival goers the opportunity to learn about bee health, habitats and produce with stalls of honey, art, plants and mead.

The Monmouthshire Building Society will be supporting the event with the Monmouth branch sponsoring a map that will encourage bee enthusiasts and nature lovers where to find gardens and habitats of bees in the area.

Festival goers can pick up the map to navigate their way around the town and discover where and how bees pollinate locally from the festival and the Bees for Development office in Agincourt Square, Monmouth Town. Alternatively, the map is available for download at Bee Town Bee Walk | Monmouth Bee Festival (beesfordevelopment.org)

South Wales Argus:

Emily Cullum, from Bees for Development said: "Monmouthshire Building Society’s support for Bees for Development means a great deal. We are proud that Monmouth is the UK’s first Bee Town and as such it is important to engage the community in our support and preservation of green spaces and pollinator friendly habitats.

"We are looking forward to developing our relationship with Monmouthshire Building Society to create a buzz in the community and celebrate the positive impact of bees on our environment."

The Bee Town Map is just one of the ways the organisation is planning to reach out to the people of Monmouth and beyond to inform and educate people about bees and raise awareness of the work they do both locally and nationally.

Nicola Simmons, Society branch manager in Monmouth said: "Bees for Development are one of our closest high street neighbours, located in the same street as our branch in Agincourt Square.

"As a branch we were so impressed with the ambition of the charity on both a local and national level.  There is a lot of focus on the environmental importance of bees and it seemed like a perfect time to be partnering with such a worthwhile and local community project.’"

Marian Evan’s, non-executive Director at the Society, recently acquired 70,000 bees of her own and remarked: "It's amazing that Monmouth branch recognises the duty we have to protect our environment, which is something I feel very passionate about. Honeybees are critical to sustainable development and, on a personal level, I am very excited to welcome my first hive.”

Beekeeping can change the world, not only through maintaining biodiversity and ensuring good pollination to improve crop yields but also through the biproducts of bee keeping including honey, bees wax and medicinal ingredients.

For more information about bees and the festival, visit beesfordevelopment.org or follow the group on social media @beesfordevelopment.   

If you’re part of a grassroots group that could benefit from the Society’s Branch Sponsorship Fund, speak to the community team at your local Monmouthshire Building Society.

Monmouth Bee Festival is sponsored by Mandarin Stone.

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