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Looking forward to the Kerry Wild Bee Festival were Alan Balfe Senior Ecologist & Educator Tralee Bay Wetlands , Susan Brown, Grace Clinton and Niamh Ní Dhúill Transition Kerry . Photo By : Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD
THE Kerry Wild Bee Festival is back for another year and will be based in the Tralee Bay Wetlands Ecology Park this coming weekend.
This is the second year of this festival and it will feature a series of walks and talks led by biodiversity experts and community groups on these important insects and the simple actions we can take to help them.
Over the two days there will also be nature art activities with Phil McSwiney, creating bees and other pollinators such as dragonflies out of natural materials.
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On Saturday, July 6, the day will begin with Ian McGrigor from Gortbrack Organic Farm leading a guided walk and talk about the Wonders of Willow Trees and Bees, visiting many of the living willow features in the ecology park.
Alan Balfe Senior Ecologist & Educator @Tralee Bay Wetlands Ecology Park will lead a workshop on how to learn about bee identification and how to carry out wild bee surveys.
Alan carries out bee survey’s every month on site to build up a record of the bee species found and the public are always welcome to come along.
There will be a guided ecological corridor walk to The Green/Town Park, to learn how Tralee is connected with these valuable urban natural habitats.
On Sunday, July 7th there will be two talks about community actions for pollinators, with the morning beginning with Grace Clinton, from Fenit Changing Tides giving a talk on ‘How The Carder Bee returned to Fenit in 2023‘.
This will be followed by a talk with Susan Brown to learn about Ballyduff Tidy Towns exciting rare Moss Carder bee discovery this year, and what actions community groups such as Tidy Towns can do as well as what to look out for.
Enjoy envisioning a bee corridor through your community and beyond. Ger Scollard will then show how to submit records and recording actions for pollinators with Kerry Branch Irish Wildlife Trust
The Kerry Wild Bee Festival is being organised by Transition Kerry in collaboration with Tralee Bay Wetlands Ecology Park. We would like to acknowledge the support of Kerry County Council Community Support Fund, Eleanor Turner Biodiversity Officer Kerry Co Council, Kerry Branch Irish Wildlife Trust, Tralee Tidy Towns, Ballyduff Tidy Towns, Fenit Changing Tides, Gortbrack Organic Farm, Transition Kerry From The Ground Up Network,Margaret Kissane @The Lakeside Café, Biodiversity Ireland and the All Ireland Pollinator Plan. The events are all free of charge. Bookings can be made here: https://traleebaywetlands.org/book-now
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