Acronym Community Empowerment's story
Save Our Bees helped people to reconnect with nature especially during the Covid recovery and it was an opportunity for people to come together safely outdoors and increase their mental and physical wellbeing. It made young people fall in love with the simple things around them and they began to take notice of nature and actively participate in bee husbandry.
We were able to make a greater impact with appearances on BBC News North West and the Liverpool Echo and interviews on BBC Radio Merseyside, and had a fantastic endorsement by the Metro Mayor's, Steve Rotheram, visit to our apiary.
Overall by the end of the project we established 24 beehives; engaged 30 7-11 year olds; 4 volunteers and 10 adult beekeepers, 3 group visits from other community organisations; 2 local primary schools and a waiting list for the launch of a spring-autumn project that we are currently planning.
Useful learnings from Acronym Community Empowerment
Our initiative aimed to deliver an activity that everyone benefited from and to develop a small scale community action that celebrates the importance of community-led climate action.
Our project aimed to make people aware that British bees are dying out fast in the UK due to urbanisation, deforestation, chemical pollution and changing climates and environmental conditions. Current statistics estimate that 97% of grasslands have been lost, making survival increasing difficult for bees.
Our aim was to reintroduce skills that help our environment especially accessible for disadvantaged poor communities, to have the experience of handling bees in a safe environment. Bees working together reflects how we should all come together to create initiatives that heal.
We worked in partnership with Merseyside Bees & Honeycomb, Crawford House, The Caribbean Centre and John Archer Hall. We also established working relationships with Smithdown Road Primary and Windsor Primary school to help sustain the project's impact and introduce a new generation of beekeepers.
The project was managed by Anyanna Ndukwe, a teacher, community development manager and Company Secretary of Acronym Community Empowerment (ACE).
Acronym Community Empowerment's metrics
Number of schools that have agreed to include beekeeping in their science and geography curriculum so that children understand the important role bees play in the interconnectivity of our eco-system.
