Aidan and Jovies Rally for the Bees


Aidan and Jovie will be embarking on a journey from the UK to West Africa, as part of the Plymouth Dakar Challenge. Along this journey, their goal is to raise funds and awareness for a local bee conservation project based in Cornwall.

Travelling in Jovie's £300, 20-year-old car, they will begin in Plymouth, go through Western Europe,  West Africa, and across the Sahara Desert, ultimately ending up in Banjul. There, they will donate the car to a local African charity and make their way back to Cornwall.  The challenge does not require any funds to be raised for charity, except for the donation of the car at the end. However, Aidan and Jovie want to take the opportunity to raise funds and awareness for native bee conservation in their home of Penryn, Cornwall. They have even named their team “The Bees Brothers” and plan to decorate Jovian’s VW Polo as a bee. They will set off in December and return in January, completing the 4,000 mile journey in just three weeks. 

Aidan and Jovian have chosen to fundraise for a cause that is close to their hearts and their home. All funding acquired through donations and GoFundMe will be donated to Black's Cornish Bees, a small community interest group working to protect and develop the Native Bee population in Cornwall. This nonprofit project is keen to conserve and protect the native population of bees and raise awareness of the positive atributes and outcomes of working alongside them. Local owners, Bob Black and Tamsin Blight, are hoping to raise additional funds to support the conservation work. This entails buying additional bee keeping equipment and offering workshops on site for those with an interest in native bee conservation, as well as both novice and advanced beekeeping groups. They also plan to improve the site with landscaping and signage. Their goal is to create a space where the local community can engage with bee conservation, and learn about the vital role native bees play in sustaining local and global ecosystems. 

The project also aims eventually to set up a workshop to offer employment opportunities to young people with learning difficulties on a small scale, producing polishes and cosmetics based on beeswax and honey. The project is a nonprofit enterprise, so all funding generated will  benefit its ecological, educational, conservation and social enterprise projects.

All donations would help to achieve these goals. While Aidan and Jovian are using the Plymouth Dakar Challenge as a vehicle to raise awareness and funds for Black's Cornish Bees, the journey itself will be strictly personally financed and no donations will go to funding their trip. This is to ensure that all donations go where they want them: to Native Bee Conservation!

Donations in the form of cash or labor/volunteer work on the allotment are welcomed and encouraged. To arrange this, please contact:
Bob Black
07701057784

To learn more about their project, please visit:
http://www.cornishbees.com/

To learn more about the Plymouth Dakar Challenge, please visit: 
http://www.dakarchallenge.co.uk/our-rallys/

Conservation of native bees is key in protecting the entire species of pollinators and maintaining a healthy local ecosystem. Join Aidan and Jovie in their Rally for the Bees by donating or getting involved!






*Photos courtesy of Black's Cornish Bees*