My Bristol Favourites: Tim Barsby

Tim Barsby is the founder and director of Bee Bristol, which as its name suggests aims to encourage every citizen of Bristol to embrace nature by helping pollinators. They do this by planting, managing and maintaining areas of wildflower in Bristol; educating and communicating the value of pollinators; and engaging with community groups, schools, individuals and organisations.

For more information, visit www.beebristol.org.

Here are Tim’s top-five Bristol favourites

At-Bristol

“We have a great relationship with At-Bristol and the fantastic team there. We currently run a beehive on the roof, which not many people may know about! As well as producing local honey, one of the aims is the collect data on how traffic pollution effects the bees. We also planted wildflowers in Millennium Square last year and commissioned the big purple bee street art you can see down there. I think At-Bristol represents science and nature in a wonderful way that makes it fun and accessible for everyone.”

The Christmas Steps pub

“The Christmas Steps is a lovely pub run run by lovely people. I may be a little biased here as I went to school with some of the Crack magazine team who run the place! But they have done such a good job restoring the building, plus the food, drinks and music is genuinely spot on. 

Shared work spaces

“Bristol has a lot of amazing spaces where people come together to create their work and help each other out. We are lucky enough to share a wood workshop with a talented bloke called James Tattershall just off Gloucester Road. With help from volunteers, we build honeycomb meadows, bee hotels, nesting boxes and tree planters with more projects on the way. Having a place to do this is great, but the special thing about it is the readily available help and advice from the guys there, who have taught me huge amounts. Special mention also to Copyright Magazine who I share my office with at The Coach House on Upper York Street off Stokes Croft. Top people!”

St Werburgh’s

“I used to live here for a time and I have only fond memories of it. The area has an incredible amount to offer – nice pubs, the allotments, the farm and fantastic views from walks up to the mound. I’m a big fan of the community gardens where people grow their own food, and it’s quiet and great for a game of chess! St Werburgh’s City Farm works with groups of adults with learning disabilities, which is just one example of many showing the good vibes of community and nature.”

Fighting spirit

“Bristol has a long history with protests and sticking up for what it believes in. I believe that at the moment Bristol is at the forefront for putting people first and balancing the power between the rich and poor. Politics is important to me and I try and get involved where I can. Luckily the people can actually make a difference here and it’s encouraging to see so many groups mobilised, fighting for a wide range of social, ethical, political and environmental rights.”

Read more: Clifton Village benefits Bristol’s bees