APIdays: national awareness days for bees, environmental sentinels

The Principality has been working with the Union Nationale de l’Apiculture Française (UNAF, French National Union of Beekeeping) on the Bees, Environmental Sentinels national programme since 2011, and celebrates “APIdays” during June each year.

Since this partnership was established, numerous hives have been set up on the roof terrace of the Museum of Philately and Coinage in Fontvieille. These are monitored by the UNAF, with help from a team from the Gardens Section at the Department of Urban Amenities.

To help everyone learn more about the critical role that bees play within our ecosystems, and teach young and old alike to protect bees and support the development of French beekeeping, the Department of Urban Amenities’ Garden Section and the Department of Education, Youth and Sport will offer free events in the UNESCO Gardens on the Fontvieille Terraces from 9 am to 4 pm on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 June.

The programme will feature: 

• Welcome – public awareness and orientation
• Candle workshop – making small wax candles
• Demonstration and extraction of honey – with Mr Lucien Guérin, consulting beekeeper
• Melliferous plants – presentation and workshop on “Lunch with or without bees”
• Seed bombs – interactive workshop
• Bee species and hives of the world – educational introduction
• Department of Education, Youth and Sport smart hives – project presentation
• Game of the Goose board game – on Saturday only 
• Display panels – educational introduction