B4 Symposium 2026 at Calstock Arts

Andrew Brown
2 days ago
2 min read

Attend in Person or Join Online

On Saturday 11 April, Calstock Arts will host the B4 Symposium, a day focused on free-living honey bees, biodiversity, biosecurity and community involvement. The event runs from 10:00 to 15:00, with coffee and registration from 9:30.

If you cannot attend in person, you can still be part of the day by joining us online via Zoom. This makes it possible for more people to hear from the speakers, take part in the discussion and engage with the important work being done around free-living honey bees and biodiversity.

The symposium brings together expert speakers, practical conservation thinking and opportunities for the wider community to get involved. It is designed to connect current research with real-world action, particularly around the study and protection of free-living honey bees in the South West.

What to expect

The programme includes:

Norman Carreck on what is new in honey bee conservation
Dr Ollie Visick on free-living honey bees, including colony density, survival and limiting factors
A session on citizen science and how people can get involved with the University of Plymouth’s research
Afternoon talks on biosecurity, including lessons from the Isles of Scilly
Insights from Blenheim Palace and ancient woodlands
A round table discussion on current B4 work, free-living bees, biodiversity and how the community can help support research

Why this matters

A key theme of the day is that wild honey bee colonies still occur across South West England, and the University of Plymouth is mapping these colonies and collecting samples to reveal their genetic origin.

The symposium aims to give people a clearer understanding of the research and encourage them to help spread the word through their own communities and networks.

There is also a strong practical focus. The event is not just about hearing from experts. It is about helping people understand how they can actively support observation, reporting and research into free-living honey bees.

Friday session at Newton Farm, Metherell

Before the main symposium, there is also a half-day outdoor session on Friday 10 April at Newton Farm, Metherell.

This includes:

A farm tour covering:
- wildflower meadow creation
- hedge laying
- wetland creation
- orchard creation
- conservation grazing
A demonstration of the installation of a log hive and a rocket hive by Filipe Salbany and Matthew Somerville

This session is designed to showcase actions that support biodiversity and nature recovery, while also exploring whether free-living honey bees may be limited by available nest sites.

How to get involved

People can support the research by:

attending the symposium in person
joining online via Zoom
reporting free-living colonies through the Honey Bee Watch mapping platform
reporting nest locations directly to Dr Ollie Visick using the contact details provided in the event information