29 JUN 2020 My name is Meetal Patel, and I live in London. I have been here for 15 years and most of that time I have lived in Central London. I run an organisation called Pearly Queen Honey, which grew from humble beginnings around ten years ago out of an interest in bees. I started selling the honey from my hives, but due to the interest from the public, it soon began to expand into a larger scale operation. It was initially just sold locally and then slowly I started to work with other local beekeepers to sell their produce to more outlets, supporting them and their work with the bees as well as giving more people access to their delicious honey. This has now expanded to supplying close to 40 locations in London ranging from deli shops, to bars, restaurants and artisan coffee outlets. Now the Pearly Queen family has honey from 8 different parts of London, all unique in its locality and flavour.

I think there are two things pertinent to me the last few months have demonstrated, and hopefully integrated, into part of the wider public consciousness. The first being the appreciation of surroundings and ‘green’ spaces. I am very lucky that I live in London which is one of the greenest capital cities in the world. Apart from the world famous parks, there are small pockets and squares all over the city. Lockdown due to COVID really made people appreciate these places more—be it during exercise, or just a place to relax, reflect and watch nature through the emergence of springtime.

The effect on mental health of such a connection with nature has been well documented, and I feel it's only now that people have had an opportunity (albeit during an unfortunate circumstance) to really take it in. The door this connection has opened has also made people look at their relationship with nature and its links to the food they consume. This has always been a very important cornerstone of my organisation. I use the bees as an example to help put people in touch with the origins of the food we eat daily, and the importance of sustainability. This is something we have drifted from to the point where food has become commoditised.

The second has been as a result of the BLM movement. As an ethnic minority myself, it has always been painfully clear how society can create barriers and how ingrained attitudes can limit minorities from reaching their full potential. As a beekeeper of 10 years, and working with many organisations such as urban farms and naturalistic charities, I am often confronted with an incredible lack of diversity, usually being the only ethnic minority in the room.

Access to nature and the living world in all its forms should be available for all, and one of my drivers is to help further that notion. My work often involves reaching out to those with no history of environmental engagement to help them find the joy it can offer; again using my bees and honey as a medium for this, I hope to open the gates and break the barriers that have prevented this in the past.

Luckily, as a beekeeper I had permission to see and tend to my hives and this helped become a real focus during lockdown. Whilst bees never follow the textbook behaviour we learn over the years, I was very prepared for this year's activity and planned for my hives’ growth over summer. It has also been a really good way of consolidating my plans for the future, by connecting with more local stores and delis to teach them about the great local honey and the sheer variety of flavours created within London.

On top of that, I have discovered that, contrary to what I thought, I’m not totally awful at running, so I have found a new way to (try) to keep fit! Saying that, ‘beekeepers back’ is a common problem amongst apiarists, so perhaps I should look to work on strengthening that too...

I have been really inspired by how people have begun to discover and support local small businesses. The past few months have really made people think about the value that their spending has on the livelihoods of millions around the UK, and the impact it has on their local community. I have spoken to a number of outlets I supply who have all started to adapt due to the COVID restrictions in some amazing and inventive ways. It’s this creativity that I think we should really look to nurture and encourage.

I am really optimistic that the next few months will help instigate a change in general attitude to the environment, our surroundings, and how we interact with each other.

Contact me for information on honey, beekeeper experiences or local outlets, or for opportunities to stock or work together via email or Instagram.