We are a charity and a limited company. Our registered Charity number is 1045505
Although the best way of describing us is through our aims and objectives:-
Aims and Objectives
Bees and Trees is a charitable organisation involved in:-
Promoting
Orchards and old varieties of apples and other fruits.
Conserving
Native honey bees and the use of traditional straw skep hives.
Developing
A positive relationship between people and the natural world.
The Public Face of Bees and Trees
Paul Hand
Paul Hand
Paul Hand is very much the public face of 'Bees and Trees'. It is Paul who meets with people involved in projects and who teaches and gives talks in schools and at meetings.
Paul talking in an assembly and to youngsters in class at Warren Hills School Coalville, Leicestershire.
More About Our Work
Orchards
The orchard has been a central feature of our landscapes and lives for hundreds of years. Along with many other lovely things we are losing them at an alarming rate.
With them go the wonderful old varieties of fruit. These are our heritage. We are collecting old varieties of apple and pear, and working with the National Fruit Trials at Brogdale in Kent.
Orchards supply us with a display of joyful blossom in spring and a supply of healthy fruit in the autumn. A traditional orchard of standard trees with sheep grazing beneath them is also the ideal home for a hive of honey bees.
We are restoring some traditional orchards on ancient sites and promoting the planting of old varieties in gardens.
We hope that an increaseed awareness of all the lovely apple and pear varieties may bring the fruit industry to plant and market a bigger range.
The Bramley and Cox are good English apples, but there are so many more!
Honeybees
Since the ice age 7,000 years ago there have been wild honey bees in the British Isles. They are dark in colour, peaceful by nature, and ideally suited to our climate. They lived naturally in hollow trees, and were kept domestically in straw hives. They were our only honey bees until other strains were imported from 1850. It is a little recognised fact that they do still exist.
It is our aim to spread this knowledge amongst beekeepers and those with an interest in natural history and conservation.
The straw skep hive also started to go out of fashion at the same time. Disappearing altogether by 1920. This is a shame since they are practical, attractive, simple and cheap to construct.
We wish to encourage people to make their own hives of straw and keep native strain honey bees. Also to be aware of bumblebees and other pollinating insects which can be encouraged, and provided for, by our management of the land, to everyones benefit.
Membership
If you would like to help with our work it is possible to become a member of Bees and Trees. In order to find out about membership please follow the link.
Contact Details
Our contact details can be found, along with maps, after the membership page.
Membership details
