World Bee Day a success thanks to funding by FCHO

Community groups across Oldham held events for World Bee Day following funding from First Choice Home Oldham (FCHO).

The housing association gave £2,200 in total to raise local awareness of the vital role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy. 

The money was given to OL1 Oldham and social enterprises Local Food First CIC and Hope Restoration CIC. All three held events to mark the day last week. 

OL1 gave out seed packets and held bug hotel making and herb bed improvement activities at Barker Street Community Centre in Coldhurst.  

A wide range of pollinator friendly family activities was held by Local Food First at the Wildbrook Community Food and Growing Hub. 

And Hope Restoration ran a biodiversity themed event at the Sholver and Moorside Community Centre. Another will take place on May 28.  

Founder of Local Food First, Dave Hanlon, said: “Without funding from organisations like FCHO, we wouldn’t be able to put on such a fantastic event on this scale.  

“We’ve had 85 visitors including pupils from the three local primary schools and some home-schooled children too.  

“It’s been great to show and teach the children about biodiversity, nature and growing initiatives, and we find that often, children are more in tune with nature than adults.  

“These local kids really are our future, so exposure and early education around these topics is of huge importance. Thank you to FCHO for enabling us to do this.” 

FCHO neighbourhood manager, Carl Turner, added: “The theme of this year’s World Bee Day is ‘Bee together for people and the planet - a partnership that sustains us all.’ 

“By working together with these three groups and using our grant funding, I think we have collectively lived up to that theme.  

“These events also complement FCHO’s work in our communities to improve biodiversity through initiatives like No Mow May and our wildflower, tree and bulb planting projects.”