Features / Bees
Making a buzz with Bristol’s bee lady
Alyson Hurst is a beekeeper based in Bristol who keeps hives in and around the city. She is focused on making a difference to the environment and educating others on the importance of bees.
She founded Hives & Herbals several years ago to spread her message, but it was a long path to get to her dream job.
Alyson began her working life as a maths teacher, but decided teaching wasn’t for her and went on to become a foster family therapist after adoption of her own children.
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A few years later, she was made redundant and also fell ill around the same time. Her husband, who she then separated from, was a beekeeper. She had joined in as a hobby during their relationship, so they divided their hives between them and were left with three each.
Some Hives and Herbals products for sale
As a result of being unable to work and being unsure what to do next, Alyson started going to a Buddhist centre to meditate. While at the centre, she had the idea to make her own products from bees wax and the herbs she grew in her garden, which have medicinal qualities.
Her beekeeping hobby began to flourish into something more. After gaining more experience and love for making homemade products with beeswax and herbs, she started Hives & Herbals.
Making her products pure and environmentally friendly is very important and Alyson grows all of the herbs that are used in the products herself, never using pesticides. She keeps her bees in a safe environment as well.
Alyson adds nothing but pure sunflower oil to her products and only uses packaging that can be re-purposed or recycled.
Her main aim, however, has always been to educate and care for others. From the beginning of her working life she has worked to teach children and help family units. As a beekeeper, Alyson still aims to educate and teaching people.
“We can learn a lot from bees,” she says. “They work together for the good of the hive and don’t work just for themselves.”
She does group talks, workshops and YouTube videos to help people develop a better understanding about honey bees and give people experiences to get their “hands in the earth”, an experience that many wouldn’t normally be able to access.
Alyson has recently started the campaign #helpbristolhoneybees where she posts tips on how we can all help the bees by making small changes in our gardens.
She loves being a beekeeper. “I’m extremely lucky and grateful being able to do this,” she says. “It doesn’t feel like a job.”
To learn more about Hives and Herbals visit www.hivesandherbals.com
Read more: Newly-transformed Gloucester Road cafe hopes to create a buzz
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