Pestival | Beecab

Buzy

The Beecab is a London taxi specially customised by Pestival and London’s beekeepers, complete with a working beehive in the front seat. It featured on London Tonight, and was launched from the Wellcome Trust on Thursday 18th June 2009. It was a flyaway success as a peripatetic and marketing tool.

Importance

As Wellcome Trust’s multimedia editor Barry J Gibb describes, ‘Bridget recognised a brittle shard of truth. That humanity – for all its apparent domination of the planet – is utterly reliant upon insects. No insects, no plants, no animal life. By helping people open up to this simple truth, Bridget and her team are sending a powerful ecological message to anyone who’ll listen, interact or play. Bridget and her singular vision have never left me, permanently changing the way I look at nature (and black cabs).’ Barry J Gibb, Multimedia Editor, Wellcome Trust The Beecab’s driver was Steve Benbow, a British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) beekeeper himself.

Pestival founder, Bridget notes the aptness of the Beecab “Bees and cabbies have more in common than you might think – the way bees navigate is very similar to the way cab drivers use the Knowledge to get round London. They both service the city, and with the Varroa mite wiping out wild colonies of bees, urban beekeeping is more important than ever.”

A word from our Partners

Bees are vital for the pollination of flowers and fruit in the capital, and beekeepers are the only way the population of honey bees can be maintained in London.” Dr Pat Goodwin, Head of Pathogens, Immunology and Population Health at the Wellcome Trust, said: “The decline in bees and other pollinators may devastate our environment and would almost certainly have a serious impact on our health and wellbeing. As well as funding research into the reasons behind the decline in pollinators in maintaining our way of life.” the Wellcome Trust is delighted to be supporting Pestival, which will engage everyone with the vital role insects play.

Watch the trailer for Pestival 2009 below and find out more about the whole event surrounding the buzzing Beecab.