You won't receive a separate ticket or link for this event which will be accessible from the Planet Shaftesbury website home page - just scroll down to the event details where you'll find the link on the day. Please register in advance so that we can be confident of not being over subscribed. A description of the talk follows.

One of four inspiring illustrated online talks from Brigit Strawbridge, wildlife gardener, naturalist and advocate for bees. Brigit is known as Shaftesbury's 'bee-lady' and she's a tireless campaigner, reminding us how wonderful the natural world is and how important it is to cherish it. Her book ‘Dancing with Bees’ has been described as ‘entrancing’ and ‘a delight that helps us reconnect with the beautiful, precious and natural world.’

Across four sessions, one each month from March to June 2021, Brigit will share her passion and knowledge about bees, the problems they face, and what we can do to help them. The sessions stand alone, but are complementary. They cover

• the importance of bees and other pollinators and their fascinating relationships with flowering plants; the basic differences between Honeybees, Bumblebees and Solitary bees; the distinctive behaviours and life cycles of Honeybees (11th March)
• Bumblebees; habitat needs, behaviour and life-cycle; gardening for Bumblebees (8th April)
• Solitary bees; habitat needs, behaviour and life-cycle; bee hotels (13th May)
• the problems bees all face (focussing on habitat loss, climate change & pesticides); what we can do to help these fascinating insects by creating more pollinator-friendly gardens and habitats for them; what we might learn from other ‘bee-friendly’ communities. (17th June)

After several years in Shaftesbury, Brigit will move to Cornwall this year. She's keen to share her expertise with those who'd like to see support for the area's bees and other pollinators continue. By hosting these sessions, Planet Shaftesbury hopes we'll connect with local enthusiasts to launch a viable 'pollinator project' to support the town's Open Spaces Group and our Town Council for continuing the town's efforts to be 'bee-friendly'.

Each talk will provide opportunities for Q&A and for discussion of a community response to issues raised. Depending on the extent of discussion, each session will last 1 to 1.5 hours.

There is no charge for this talk but you can make a £3 donation here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Brigit.S.Howard. Please book through Eventbrite as spaces are limited. You can then access the talk by scrolling down through the event details to the link from the Planet Shaftesbury website homepage https://www.planetshaftesbury.org/