Hi, and thanks for visiting our 'Give Bees a Chance’ page, and a special thank you if your visiting us after buying one of our bee bug logos at the festival to support the cause.
We have outlined below very briefly what the campaign this year is all about, but if you want to know more just click on the link below.
Isle of Wight Festival Bee Research Project
Our 'Give Bees a Chance’ campaign started off at last year’s festival where we highlighted the concerns and problems affecting honeybees and bumblebees both nationally and worldwide. It was a campaign which really caught people’s imaginations so after the festival we wondered how we could get more involved and carry on helping promote a greater awareness of all things bee. With the help of our partners Gift to Nature and the island’s Scouts we managed to raise £1,200 which was then match funded by the Environment Agency to kick start something bigger, which is………
The Bee Research Project, split into three parts;
Part I is a study of the vegetated soft cliffs and chines (coastal valleys) of the Isle of Wight particularly focusing on their extraordinary wildlife (especially bare-ground insects such as bees).
Part II, an investigation of the management and monitoring of cliff top buffer zones focusing in particular
on their value to invertebrates(including nectaring for bees).
Part III, a longer term project researching and modelling the impacts of climate change on the sustainability of the Isle of Wight chines and therefore also their future role in providing these essential coastal bare-ground habitats. The vegetated soft cliffs of the Isle of Wight are internationally important for biodiversity. Most are notified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and a significant proportion of the resource is included in the European South Wight Maritime Special Area of Conservation.
There is also an
Ecological management plan that has been written about the actual site of the festival, highlighting five specific conservation projects that can be developed over the next few years.
Updates on this and the research project will appear throughout the year on the Isle of Wight Festival website.
The festival is also sponsoring six bee hives on the island this year.
Many thanks for your support and interest.
Rick, Mark and Juliet
The Eco Action Team