Services — London
Guided 'bee safaris', DIY bee hotel workshops, and lunch-and-learn sessions that give staff a direct encounter with the nature on their building, or in a local green space — and the knowledge to help bees at home.
Most people have never looked closely at a bee. They don't know there are 270 species in Britain, that most live alone rather than in hives, or that some are little bigger than a grain of rice. A bee safari, bee hotel workshop, or lunch-and-learn talk changes that in an hour.
Urban Bees runs a variety of staff engagement sessions for corporate clients across London and beyond. Sessions are led by Alison Benjamin, author of four books on bees and a passionate bee champion, who makes the subject accessible, surprising, and genuinely enjoyable for people with no prior interest or knowledge.
Our engagement sessions are used by sustainability teams to bring biodiversity commitments to life, by HR teams as a distinctive wellbeing and team activity, and by facilities managers as a way of connecting occupiers to the work going on outdoors.
All sessions are tailored to your building, your outdoor space, or outdoor green space nearby, and the potential participants.
A 60 minute guided tour of your outdoor space, or a local green space, identifying the bee and pollinator species foraging, and possibly nesting, explaining their life cycles and behaviour, and showing staff how to tell them apart. Suitable for up to 20 people, no prior knowledge is needed.
Staff assemble their own take-home, flat-pack bee hotel from natural materials — wooden panels and bamboo tubes, — and learn how to site it for maximum occupancy. Sessions take 60 minutes and work well as a lunch-and-learn or team activity.
A 45 minute indoor presentation on urban wild bees — who they are, where they nest, which plants they need, and what staff can do at home to help them. Works well on its own or as part of a series of bee-related activities.
We work with corporate clients to host visits from partner schools — bringing pupils into the office for a bee hotel workshop and a bee safari on the rooftop terrace. These visits are consistently cited by pupils as a highlight of their school year.
Where a bee observation box is installed on your building, we lead tours showing staff the live nesting activity inside — eggs, pollen stores, cocoons, or emerging adults depending on the season. It invariably stops people in their tracks and works well as part of a bee safari.
We design and install interpretation boards identifying the bee and pollinator species found on your rooftop or terrace — with photographs, names, and key facts including how gentle they are and unlikey to sting . Signage gives occupiers a way to engage with nature independently, any time.
Urban Bees' entertaining and practical lunchtime sessions about how to help bees have proved extremely popular with our employees at all levels of the firm. It's been a fantastic way to engage employees in sustainability issues. Employees appreciate why Weil has transformed its roof terrace to provide food and lodging for wild bees. Pupils who come into the office to make bee hotels and go on a bee safari with Urban Bees say it's an experience they'll never forget!
Robert Powell, Director, Pro Bono and Corporate Responsibility, Weil, Gotshal and Manges LLP (2014 -2025)As part of an environmentally-conscious company, it was important for us to ensure our London roof space helped nature to thrive as well as being an attractive place for staff to relax. Alison's annual summer safari and talk is hugely looked forward to. Our colleagues love peeking in our bee nesting box.
Michael O'Brien, Studio Manager, Lush Soho HQWe'll ask about your outdoor space, approximate group size, and what you're hoping staff get from the session. A bee safari could be right for you, or a bee hotel workshop, or an initial lunch-and-learn talk, depending on the time of year and the planting on your rooftop — we tailor accordingly.
Bee safaris are available from April to September. We'll agree on session type, duration, and date, and advise on the best time of day for bee activity on your site. Bee hotel workshops and lunch-and-learn talks are available all year round.
Alison arrives to a bee safari with bee identification guides designed for the specific month and location and a take-home plant list staff can use in their own gardens to feed bees. For bee hotel workshop, she brings the flat-pack kits and information materials about where to site the hotel at home and which flowers to grow to feed nesting bees. Sessions are informal, interactive, and accessible to everyone — no specialist knowledge needed or expected.
After a bee safari, we can provide a summary of bee species seen, along with a recommended plant list for the site.
We run regular engagement sessions for corporate clients across London, including:
Engagement sessions work best when there is something to show — active planting, occupied bee hotels, or a bee observation box. Find out about the habitat services that give your staff something to discover.
Rooftop pollinator habitat design & planting →
'I never knew there was more than one type of bee and that only one makes honey.'
— PwC staff member, after a bee safari
Get in touch to discuss formats, dates, and what would work best for your building and group.
Get in touch