What's The Buzz? Bees Land At The Lyric Hammersmith

Continuing the Lyric Hammersmith's commitment to reducing its impact on the environment, the Lyric and HammersmithLondon have teamed up to install three beehives on the roof of the venue - which have become the home of approximately 180,000 Buckfast Bees.

With the bee population currently under threat, as recently highlighted by Sir David Attenborough, in just five years the population of bees has dropped by one third. BeeUrban, who have installed and will maintain the hives at the Lyric, try to address this problem by supporting bees and providing a safe area for them in which to thrive.

The hives are situated on the theatre's green sedum roof, which will help the roof mature through pollination and help improve air quality and biodiversity in the local area.

Sian Alexander, Executive Director at the Lyric Hammersmith said, "Our new bees will help us to have a positive impact on the environment, something we continually strive to take direct action to address. Bees are integral to our natural world - pollination is essential to maintain many of the food supplies on which human life depends - yet they are under threat and their numbers are dwindling. So, it only felt right that the Lyric Hammersmith should do what we can to help these amazing insects continue to do what they do best. I'm delighted to welcome them to their new home on the Lyric's green sedum roof. We all look forward to tasting their honey and learning more about these incredible creatures."

Patricia Bench, BID Director at HammersmithLondon said, "The BID is delighted to partner with the Lyric on this project as part of our commitment to creating a greener and friendlier town centre in Hammersmith. We encourage other businesses and residents to include bee-friendly planting in their gardens and look forward to trying our Hammersmith honey!"

The Lyric Hammersmith is one of the UK's leading producing theatres. For more than a hundred and twenty years it has been responsible for creating some of the UK's most adventurous and acclaimed theatrical work. It has also gained a national reputation for its work with and for children and young people and creates pathways into the arts for young talent from all backgrounds, helping to diversify our industry. Recent productions include our critically acclaimed annual pantomimes, the smash hit Bugsy Malone, the international tour and co-production with Filter Theatre of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lesley Sharp in Simon Stephen's new version of Chekhov's The Seagull and the UK premiere of the international phenomenon Terror.

The Lyric's dual commitment to producing the highest quality contemporary theatre, whilst nurturing the creativity of young people is what makes it unique within the cultural ecology of the UK. It is a local theatre rooted in its community with a national and international reputation for the quality and innovation of its artistic work.

In April 2015 the Lyric reopened following a multi-million pound capital project, which saw the addition of the Reuben Foundation Wing housing state-of-the-art facilities for theatre, dance, film, music, digital and more. The 'new' Lyric is now the largest creative hub in West London and home to an innovative partnership of like-minded leading arts organisations who work together to deliver life-changing creative opportunities for thousands of young West Londoners.

HammersmithLondon Business Improvement District (BID) are a not-for-profit company, first elected in March 2006. Our mandate was renewed for a second 5-year-term in March 2011 and for a third term in March 2016. We have sustained our area enhancements and implemented several innovative new projects that benefit the business community in Hammersmith. We will be continuing to plant bee-friendly forage around the town centre through our air quality projects such as the Hammersmith Grove parklets and the Business Low Emission Neighbourhood (bLEN) under the Flyover.

We are playing a vital role in driving the public realm agenda and implementing and developing a range of initiatives that have been identified by local businesses to ensure this area remains a thriving district in which to work and trade.

www.hammersmithlondonbid.co.uk

To post a comment, you must register and login.