Kent competition aims to get local residents buzzing about bee poetry

Everyone in the beautiful county of Kent can ‘bee’ creative this summer by writing ‘buzzing’ poetry which celebrates the county’s beautiful bees, coastline and countryside.

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is launching a poetry competition aimed at raising awareness of Kent’s wild bees.

The competition is open to all – adults, children, amateur and professional poets. Every style of poetry, from haiku to limerick, sonnet to acrostic is welcome, but all poems must feature the wonderful and charismatic bumblebees of the Kent coast and countryside.

Kent ‘the garden of England’ is a hot spot for a number of rare wild bee species, including the amazing but endangered Shrill carder bee, as well as many common bumblebee species.

Emma Lansdell, Project Manager for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s Making a Buzz for the Coast project which is based in Kent, said “We’re looking for poems celebrating the wonderful bees of Kent. We hope that people across the county, young and old, will take a walk along the coast and in the country this summer, and be inspired by the bees they see around them to ‘wax lyrical’ and become poets.”

The competition runs until 14 September and the winner will be chosen by the Trust’s patron, Olly Smith, a keen poetry writer himself. A cash prize of £100 will be gifted to the winning entry and the winning entry will be featured in a forthcoming edition of the Trust’s magazine ‘Buzzword’. The Making a Buzz for the Coast project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, focuses on restoring and creating habitat for Kent’s wild bees linking isolated populations together through the creation of flower rich ‘stepping stones’.

www.bumblebeeconservation.org/mab-poetry-competition/ to find out how you can get involved.