Kenilworth is one of the first six locations to officially be named a 'Bee Friendly Town' by the Bee Friendly Trust.

The award, announced today, recognises groups and communities that have made a dedicated effort to protect pollinators in their area.

Locally, Bee Friendly Kenilworth (BFK) has been working hard over the past two years to promote not just bees, but biodiversity in general.

BFK, which sponsored the award application, was formed in spring 2020 by founding members Fern Arnold, Cllr Alix Dearing, Jo Harper and Cllr James Kennedy.

Fern explained: "They are just so important to our food crops, if we didn't have pollinators there would be problems.

"For example, there are places in China where they are having to hand-pollinate fruit trees because there aren't enough pollinators.

"And in America you see these giant lorries of bees that they take from farm to farm to pollinate crops.

"They are really important for pollinating crops, but also every insect and plant does have its place in the food web. It is not until you take something out that you realise how important something is."

Today is 'World Bee Day'

The announcement today, on World Bee Day, also sees Alresford, Arundel, Leek, Tring and Wimbourne named as Bee Friendly Towns.

And in Kenilworth Fern was eager to stress that it is not just the BFK group supporting the local wildlife.

"There are lots of groups and individuals involved," she said.

"The allotments association, the churches with Incredible Edibles and the volunteer gardeners in Talisman Square are all making a difference.

"So this is recognition of everyone in Kenilworth to show that we can all do our bit."

Anybody wishing to get involved can head to the BFK Facebook page for tips on growing their own wild meadow, and other ways to boost biodiversity.

Planting in Talisman Square is one of a number of local projects to support biodiversity

Fern said the more people who can get involved the better, and said there were big plans moving forward.

"We also don't want to be just Kenilworth, we want to cover the district," she added.

"We have plans to get Bee Friendly Warwick, Leamington and Cubbington in the pipeline."

And Cllr John Dearing, chair of the Kenilworth Town Council climate emergency group said the news was fantastic for the town.

"Today's announcement is brilliant, both in recognising the work volunteers have done so far, and giving impetus to the scheme moving forward," he said.

"I would encourage anybody thinking of getting involved to get in contact – even the smallest efforts from individuals can make an impact in boosting local biodiversity."

Bee Friendly Kenilworth also has plans to expand the scheme across the district (Image via WCC)