Local MP Maria Miller joined residents from across Basingstoke to support the Bee Fayre in Wootton St Lawrence, home to the founder of modern bee keeping Charles Butler.
Maria said, "Bees are an essential part of our ecosystem, pollinating plants to create food for humans, animals and insects. The Wootton Bee Fayre is a celebration of bees and an opportunity to understand more about how we ensure our Borough supports a healthy bee population.
" As a nation we need to continue to ensure that chemical pesticides that are harmful to bees are outlawed and as a Borough plan the future of our community to support our local bee population to thrive. Countryside and farmland making up most of the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane and so we have a crucial role to support the bee population for the whole of the Southeast region."
"2023 will be the 400th anniversary of Charles Butler writing his seminal work on bee keeping which still forms the basis of modern practice today. Butler spent his whole life living in our Borough. In 2023 Basingstoke and Dean has the opportunity to join the residents of Wootton St Lawrence to celebrate the role our community has had for centuries in understanding the work bees do and their pivotal role in keeping our environment healthy."