People in the island are being urged to get out into nature this spring, summer and autumn, reconnect with friends and enjoy Isle of Man food and drink by holding a picnic.

Organise a Biosphere Bee Community Picnic is an initiative from UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man.

Bee means ‘food’ in Manx and ‘gathering’ in English, making it perfect for the event’s title.

Clare Barber MHK, Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture and vice-chair of UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man, said: ‘The Biosphere Bee Community Picnic 2022 is a chance to connect with friends, colleagues, classmates etc in a fun way – and to make new friends within our community, too.

‘As our economy recovers, it has never been more important to support local produce and the hard-working producers behind it, and we hope picnics will be a real celebration of tasty Manx food and drink.

‘In fact, we’d love people to share their favourite local picnic recipes with the Biosphere team and we’ll put the best of them online.

‘Finally, I think we all realised the value of getting out into nature in a respectful way during our permitted exercise during Covid and we want to build on that by encouraging people to enjoy being out in nature, perhaps somewhere they haven’t explored before – with the landowners’ permission, of course.’

The Minister continued: ‘At the heart of our Biosphere is sustainability and we offer guidance on organising waste-free picnics.

‘We want people to take home happy memories, and leave nothing behind.

‘We already have a large number of people registered to take part, including one of the community projects I am involved with, which is exciting,’ the Minister said.

‘All we need now is some sunshine, but, whatever the weather, it will be great to connect with people out of doors in the beautiful Isle of Man and enjoy our fantastic Manx produce.’

simple

Organising a picnic is simple, and it’s entirely down to individuals.

Decide who it’s for, where it’s being held and when, and then register it with UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man and receive a guidance document containing handy information, invitations, social media tools, etc.

When you hold your picnic, be sure to share photos with the Biosphere team direct or tag it on social media using the hashtag #BiosphereBee

The initiative is already proving popular, with schools, businesses, community groups and neighbours, all planning their picnics.

Globally, UNESCO Biospheres promote sustainable development, conservation and learning.

The Isle of Man Biosphere delivers its aims and ambitions under its strategy Working Together for a Sustainable Future.

Promoting indigenous local produce and encouraging people to get out in to, enjoy and appreciate the natural world are among the Biosphere’s aims.

To find out more about Biosphere Bee Community Picnic 2022, visit the ‘Our Projects’ section on www.biosphere.im