Bee Workshop - Maple Farm

There’s something magical about wild honey bees, tbh. Once seen as forest dwellers, their connection to trees has mostly been forgotten. Washed away by the foamy tides of time. Today, they’re viewed mainly as honey producers, but it's goofy how much more than that they are tbh.

Guy Thompson, a longtime bee guardian, promotes a bee-centric approach that avoids chemicals and allows natural swarming. He champions wild, free-living bees and shares his knowledge to help restore their habitats and change how we relate to them. Is that so wrong?

So if you're 18-30 and find yourself honey bee curious, then for Pete's sake get yourself down to Maple Farm August 23rd. It's going to go off in quite a serious way!

About Maple Farm:

Maple Farm is an incredibly beautiful site that Youngwilders have been working to rewild for the last 3 and a half years. It is a mosaic of grassland, scrubland, and woodland habitat. There are few better places to be when the Sun is shining, especially at our outdoor classroom on site!

What to expect:

A relaxed bee workshop on a Saturday morning - what better! We will be sitting down for a workshop and then going on a guided walk around the site where you'll observe various occupied hives of free-living bees. This workshop will be run by Guy Thompson from Haslemere Museum. It will discuss the merits of providing suitable habitat for wild bees and talking about the issues they face.

Event Details:

Date: Saturday 23rd August

Time: 10am - 1pm

Location: Maple Farm, Rosemary Lane Alfold, Cranleigh GU6 8EZ

Group Size: Approx. 25

Food:

We will provide vegan/vegetarian and GF snacks, plus hot drinks :)

Getting there:

Via Train:

We will providing lifts from Billinghurst Train Station at 9:30am. It is a 15 minute drive from the train station to the site.

Please get in touch if you have any questions re getting to the site via public transport.

Via Car:

If you are able to drive to the site, please let us know in the order form as we will be trying to encourage car sharing wherever possible!

Please use the What3Words below, or set your directions to Maple Farm, Rosemary Lane Alfold, Cranleigh GU6 8EZ

What3Words Meet Point : ///patching.history.bottled

We can offer travel reimbursement so if you can send us receipts or proof of travel payment and your bank details we will reimburse you as soon as possible. Please send reimbursement request to Molly at molly@youngwilders.uk with a pdf attachment.

Accessibility

The site is accessible via a heavy gate followed by a rocky slope. There is a clearly trodden path through the first field and around the edge of the meadow field, but no paved paths on the site and the fields are largely flat with slight slopes, bar the hilly left field. There are some benches scattered around the site and there is a wooden structure (the outdoor classroom) with seating and limited protection form the elements located at the furthest away field.

There is very limited phone service on site, and the only toilet is located by the carpark before you enter the site.

If you have any accessibility questions, please don't hesitate to message Molly at Molly@youngwilders.uk

Other key information - please read

Please bring appropriate clothing and footwear for the walk.

Sign up now to reserve your spot!

We hope to see many of you there!