Plans to turn Monmouth into the first bee town in the world have given a buzz to the town.
Bees for Development (BfD) approached the town council for an endorsement and support Monday night to promote Monmouth’s bee-friendly profile locally, nationally and internationally.
Cyrene Powell from BfD based in Agincourt Square said it would provide the town with an unique identity and increase its attraction to visitors from the UK and internationally. "Abergavenny has the Food Festival, Usk is known for its flowers, Monmouth would have the unique reputation as the world’s first active bee town and lead the way for other towns, villages, counties and cities to follow suit".
Working alongside Monmouth Town council’s recent declaration of a climate emergency, it would encourage residents to become "more bee-friendly and improve local biodiversity and preserve wildlife, so improving the environment today and for generations to come," she added.
With the bee profile, it would open new avenues for funding and continually enhance and improve the town, building Monmouth’s reputation with positive bee-friendly PR in the news and media locally, nationally and internationally.
She explained that many activities to raise the profile are already taking place, such as the annual Bee Festival, and other plans would be to add signage at entry points of the town, in open spaces and verges advertising that Monouth is a bee town.
"The town could adopt our Monmouth Bee Map as an official map endorsed by Monmouth Town Council as a low-cost way to engage and interest tourists.
"Businesses communitiy groups and residents could use the ’Monmouth Bee Town’ term to show pride and support and boost their eco-friendly credentials."
The Bee Festival, held in the Nelson Garden, is now in its fourth year and is getting bigger every year. "Monmouth has a pro-pollinator and bee-friendly town council as it is home to Monmouthshire County Council’s pilot project ’Nature isn’t Neat’," she explained.
She added that the town has a unique set of experts on garden design, meadows and bee ecology "and hosts the Pollinator-friendly Gardens awards".
Monmouth is home to Bees for Development, the international charity working with some of the world’s poorest people, receiving many international visitors from Angola, Australia, France, Ghana, Germany, India, Ireland, Switzerland and the USA.
Residents will have already seen the number of community bee-friendly areas around town which are plotted on their map.
Councillor Mat Feakins said that he was happy to endorse the scheme and Cou ncillor Kelly Jackson-Graham said that it could become the town’s unique selling point and as a concept would be an "amazing opportunity" for the town.
The proposal for endorsement was unanimously accepted.
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