Nature Salon: Bees, Butterflies and Blooms

The summer sees the natural world shimmer with colour and vibrate with sound. Wildflowers and insects take the stage and become the colourful tapestry of both our urban and rural landscapes. For a summery event in our Nature Salon series, join filmmaker, author and naturalist Steve Nicholls in conversation with Mary Colwell for a joyful exploration of wildflowers, bees and butterflies.

The purples of knapweed, the golds of buttercups, the delicate blues of scabious and the soft pinks of campion are both functional and beautiful. Colours communicate to the insect world, ensuring bees, butterflies, moths and beetles can find them and carry their pollen onward. A meadow’s bright palette is the result of millions of years of plants and pollinators shaping one another. This floral, buzzing, rich conversation is a perfect fit for a summer’s afternoon.

After the talk there’s a chance to accompany Steve on a separately ticketed walk on Brandon Hill, exploring insects and plants and see spring in action! Places for this are limited due to the need to keep the group size small. The walk is NOT included as part of the ticket for the talk.

Steve was an entomologist at the University of Bristol before joining the BBC’s Natural History Unit in the mid-1980s. Since then, he has spent 4 decades traveling the world making wildlife and science documentaries for many broadcasters, including National Geographic, Discovery and PBS. He is also an award-winning stills photographer and writer; his previous books include Paradise Found and Alien Worlds – How insects conquered the world (Head of Zeus/Princeton University Press).

Mary Colwell is an author, producer and campaigner for nature. She is the author of 4 books, including most recently The Gathering Place (Bloomsbury). In 2022 she was awarded the prestigious RSP Medal for her contribution to nature and conservation and she successfully spearheaded the campaign to introduce a GCSE in Natural History into the school curriculum.