A stunning colony of bee sculptures will take flight to Worcester this summer to create a memorable celebration garden for a county hospice.
One thousand intricately painted, hand-crafted bees will create a buzz when they are displayed in the garden of The Hive, Worcester from 20th August until 2nd September 2021, raising funds for St Richard’s Hospice.
The unique display of beautiful bees follows the success of the charity’s previous Celebration Gardens of forget-me-nots, snowdrops and dragonflies. Each bee is individually commissioned from craftsman Ed Alvis of Metal Art UK, at his workshop near Evesham.
People are being encouraged to ‘bee kind’ and make a donation for a bee sculpture in the garden to celebrate or remember someone or something special, which they can later take home as a keepsake or a gift.
Donations to help create this sculpture installation will help fund St Richard’s care of patients, their loved ones and the bereaved in Worcestershire.
Fundraising Director Tricia Cavell said, “The bees will create a memorable and stunning garden which will be an ideal focal point for celebration and reflection. We felt bees are particularly appropriate this year as they work together as a community – just as the people of Worcestershire have done, especially during the pandemic, supporting each other and the hospice to continue to care.”
Donors will be invited to collect a bee from The Hive garden, from the hospice or by postal delivery after the installation is dismantled.
Along with 1,000 bees the garden will host five unique sculptures made from recycled metals by Ed Alvis. Each two-meter high flower sculpture will be set on Cotswold stone. There are also a limited-edition number of larger bee sculptures available to order which will be displayed amongst the smaller bees.
The bee creator, Ed Alvis, is well known from his appearances on television’s Scrap Kings for the Quest channel and has a personal connection with the hospice. His father was cared for at home by St Richard’s during a short illness before he died in 2013. Ed felt creating the bees for the celebration garden was his opportunity to show his gratitude for that help.
To order a bee online visit www.strichards.org.uk/celebration-garden-2021 or secure one by calling the St Richard’s Fundraising Team on 01905 958262.
Supporters can also celebrate or remember someone online in the St Richard’s virtual garden. Once you have made your donation for a virtual bee, you can share it with family and friends across social media or send them buzzing anywhere in the world via email.
The Celebration Garden is kindly sponsored by Western Power Distribution and Blue Print Direct Mail Ltd and supported by Metal Art UK.
St Richard’s Hospice cares for adults with a serious progressive illness, improving their quality of life from diagnosis, during treatment and to their last days. It also supports their loved ones.
Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,300 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire. St Richard’s is an independent charity and relies on donations and gifts in Wills for the majority of its income with the remainder funded by the NHS.