London Permaculture Festival workshop: Letting bees be wild

The annual London Permaculture Festival is a one day grassroots event that attracts around 700 people who come to learn about how the ethical design science of permaculture can offer sustainable, regenerative green solutions to different areas of modern life. 

The London Permaculture Festival is held in the beautiful Arts & Crafts building of Cecil Sharp House, Camden, London. Come along for workshops (intro and advanced), ‘how-to’ sessions, films, a stalls market and a ‘families at the festival’ zone. Enjoy discussions, networking and learning about creative solutions for a sustainable, healthy future. Browse the stalls market and enjoy the award-winning permaculture garden that demonstrates edible, sustainable and wildlife-friendly gardening surrounding Cecil Sharp House.

Tickets cost £20 • Under 18s free • Early bird £15 tickets during May only! • A limited number of concession tickets are available online (£8)

In this workshop, Matt Somerville will talk to you about the honeybee, not as insect to be manipulated for our own benefit in thin walled boxes, but the wild free living bee that is a vital part of our ecosystem. By understanding how it survives in the wild we can think about what is needed in making a suitable nest if there is a lack of cavities in the environment. He will talk about how he makes a variety of log hives which fill that niche. The workshop will take place at 3.30pm in the Storrow room at Cecil Sharpe House. 

Trainer bio

Matt Somerville: "My relationship with bees began about 12 years ago when I noticed an absence of bees in my orchard on Dartmoor. Like many others I thought that I should become a beekeeper to address the problem.
However, I was shocked to see that bees, like animals in conventional agriculture, were manipulated for our gain. The stress of constant interventions, inappropriate hives, poor diet and chemicals to treat diseases, didn’t seem right. There had to be another way to “help” the bee!

"Studying bees in the wild has been fascinating and led me to design various hives which bees colonize and live in, free from any intervention. By working with nature, I give bees a chance to become more resilient to the pressures of our diminished ecosystems.

"I have set up more than 500 hives across the country, working with a variety of landowners, community projects and regenerative farmers."

Capital Growth is proud to be a sponsor of this workshop run as part of the London Permaculture Festival 2023.