There is a widely held theory that our British honey bee couldn’t exist without being domesticated by beekeepers. However, for bee conservationists like Matt Somerville, this theory is ludicrous. He has spent decades admiring free-living honey bees nesting in tree cavities and they are under increasing threats from commercial beekeeping, loss of habitat and other violences of the modern world. So Matt decided to do something about it. For the last 14 years he has spent the winters creating his log hives before driving around all of England in the summer, erecting them as minimal intervention homes for wild honey bees.

Under Fera's Wild Share Initiative we have set up Matt's hives in two different locations and produced this documentary highlighting his work.

Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival 2025 - Finalist Kendal Mountain Festival 2025 - Official Selection