The winners of an awards scheme showcasing "bee bestie" West of England groups taking super-positive steps to support pollinators will be announced by Metro Mayor Dan Norris this week.

The Metro Mayor will bring together local residents, companies and community groups to award the 2023 Bee Bold Awards at Hartcliffe's Heart of BS13 as part of its 'Nature Family Fun Day'.

The unique West of England competition celebrates the amazing bee buddy groups across the West who have gone above and beyond to look after the region's busy bugs through actions like creating a blossoming community patch or nature-friendly allotments - and everything in between.

There are six awards up for grabs in two categories: Space for Nature - awarded to groups that have created the best gardens or pollinator spaces within their workplaces, or local area - and People for Nature - for the groups that best engage their employees, customers or communities to create places for nature.

The finalists were chosen by Mr Norris's expert pollinator panel of judges, and will all receive an award on the day.

The Bee Bold Awards ceremony will take place as part of a fun packed day of performers, live music and pollinator activities, culminating in the 2023 Pollinator Champions being crowned by the Metro Mayor in front of locals.

The Bee Bold Awards are part of the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority's wider work to increase the number of pollinators in the region and make the West the Bee and Pollinator Capital of the UK. For more information, see: https://www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/bee-and-pollinator-capital/

The Nature Family Fun Day has been funded by West of England Mayoral Combined Authority, and is part of the West of England's 20th 'Festival of Nature' run by the Natural Historical Consortium

On the day, there will be loads of fun activities for the whole family to get involved in, from flower-crown workshops to tree planting opportunities - all with a focus on getting residents learning about bees, insects and the region's other pollinators. Plus, there will be hedgehog and bee performers, butterfly stilt-walkers as well as live music