THE B4 PROJECT
B4 Symposium 2026
Watch recordings from the B4 Symposium 2026, held at Calstock Arts on Saturday 11 April. The day brought together speakers, researchers and community voices to explore free-living honey bees, biodiversity, biosecurity and practical conservation action.
These videos share key talks and discussions from the event, including updates on honey bee conservation, research into free-living colonies, citizen science, biosecurity, ancient woodlands and how communities can support this important work.
2026 Symposium
Symposium 2026 Introduction by Maggie Freegard
Symposium 2026 Introduction by Maggie Freegard
Norman Carreck - “What’s new in the world of honey bee conservation?”
Dr Ollie Visick - Free-living honey bees: colony density, survival and potential limiting factors
The status of free living honey bees in the SW by Jonathan Ellis
Promoting our native dark honey bee through sustainable beekeeping in biodiverse and healthy ecosystems
The Project
The B4 Project is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company
It exists to promote the native dark honey bee through sustainable beekeeping in biodiverse and healthy ecosystems
This involves three related strands of focus.
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Scientific research,
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Conservation and restoration programs,
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Sustainable beekeeping framework.
All elements are critical to ensure that our work is rooted in rigorous science and drives on-the-ground change.
What is B4?
Apart from technically a CIC!
We are a group of people who are active, interesting, get on well together and do things. Drawn together we inspire each other in lots of different ways. Our activity spawns diverse groups and actions. Our meetings are about much more than black bees and they encompass topics related to the ecosystem of which the black bee is an important member.
Our values
Science-based approach
We support and fund academic research and work with diverse experts in honey bee conservation, ensuring our work is rooted in rigorous science.
Collaborative
We are an open-minded, welcoming group. We embrace expertise, support and input from diverse sources, and deliver our best work through a partnership approach.
Transformative
Transformative conveys the scope of our ambition. Our work ultimately seeks to restore healthy ecosystems. We balance a sense of urgency with optimism that we can reverse environmental degradation.
Inquisitive
Environmental degradation is an ongoing challenge and efforts to restore our ecosystems must adapt accordingly.
Our knowledge is not static: we seek to deepen our understanding to continue to drive effective change.
Conservation
Transformation begins with conservation – our work saves the native dark honey bee, thereby protecting our ecosystems and encouraging biodiversity. Through this, we strive for restoration of our natural environment.
Influential
We seek to engage broadly in the issues we tackle. At its heart, our work strives to promote sustainable beekeeping and our focus is to encourage this work.
The B4 Project is proud to have worked with and been supported by:
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Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation
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1% For The Planet
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Heritage Lottery Fund
