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Nicola Reed

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Nicola Reed
NationalityBritish and Maltese
Education
Occupations
Spouse James Reed

Nicola Reed is a beekeeper, artist, teacher, entrepreneur and philanthropist from Wiltshire.

Education

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Reed holds a Master's degree in Fine Art from St Martin's School of Art,[1] a PGDip from Chelsea College of Arts and a teaching degree from University College London.[citation needed]

Beekeeping and advocacy

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Reed began beekeeping as a hobby in 2013, after taking over a hive that had been gifted to her husband for his birthday.[2] As of 2022, her hives house over 320,000 bees.

Reed is a media commentator on beekeeping and the decline of the UK bee population. In a 2018 article for The Times newspaper, she attributed the decline in bee numbers to a loss of wildflowers resulting from urban sprawl and the use of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. She also expressed support for legal action against the UK Government to suspend its use of thiamethoxam, a pesticide used on sugar beet crops that is thought to kill bees.[3] Reed has also attributed the decline in bee numbers to the varroa mite, following its spread to the UK in 2003.[4] She recommends organic produce over mass agricultural produce that relies heavily on bee-killing pesticides, and advocates that households increase the bee population by planting bee-friendly wildflowers, letting lawns grow, providing bee hotels, and hanging baskets.[4][5]

She adopts the beekeeping technique advocated by Bill Anderson of The Idler, which involves collecting only small quantities of honey during periods of surplus.[6]

According to a report by the Financial Times in June 2022, Reed plans to establish a beekeeping school in the grounds of her home in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.[6]

She is ambassador for the bee-keeping charity Bees for Development, which helps some of the world's poorest communities alleviate poverty through beekeeping.[2]

Reed is founder and creative director of Beeble, a honey spirits business.[1][7]

Philanthropy

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Reed is a trustee of Big Give, an online resource that enables charity donors to find and support charities projects in their field of interest.[8] The organisation is one of the UK's largest philanthropic endeavours, with a target of raising £1bn by 2030. The Reed family are among its principal donors.[9] The Big Give has raised over £280m for thousands of charity projects, including over £3.67m for the Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, £5.5 million for COVID-19 relief efforts, £4.3m for environmental causes via the Green Match Fund and over £2m for the Grenfell Tower fire appeal.[10]

Reed is a former trustee of Ethiopiaid, a Reed family charity working to relieve poverty and sickness in Ethiopia.[11]

Reed Short Film Awards

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Reed founded the Reed Short Film Awards, an annual film competition to recognize and celebrate the art of short films. The competition was open to emerging filmmakers from around the world, with entries in various genres including drama, comedy, documentary, and animation.The competition ran from 2010 to 2016.[12][13]

Artistry

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Reed is a book illustrator, photographer and painter.

Her animated projection work, The Busy Bee Has No Time for Sorrow, was shown at the Mdina Biennale, Malta in 2020.[14] Her work as a book illustrator includes Fox by Anthony Gardener[15]

Reed has tutored fine art on the UAL Camberwell Chelsea Wimbledon Foundation and at the University of Gloucestershire. She has led drawing workshops at the University of Malta, Chelsea College of Arts, The Idler Magazine and The Connection in Piccadilly.[16]

Personal life

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Reed grew up in Edinburgh. She now lives in Wiltshire and Notting Hill with her husband James. The couple have six children.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "What's the buzz about whisky in Wiltshire?". Financial Times. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b Liddell, Vicky (12 August 2022). "The beekeeper who became an accidental distiller: 'When I took it to the farmers' market, it sold out within an hour'". Country Life. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  3. ^ Reed, Nicola. "Bees are at risk and we can all help to keep them safe". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b "World Bee Day: A British beekeeper's guide to protecting the essential insects". Dorset Echo. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  5. ^ "How to protect bees, according to a beekeeper". The Independent. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b "What's the buzz about whisky in Wiltshire?". Financial Times. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  7. ^ BlueSkyFriday. "Feature: Nicola Arkell Reed". www.blueskyfriday.com. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  8. ^ "THE BIG GIVE TRUST – Charity 1136547". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  9. ^ May, Melanie (13 March 2023). "Big Give sets sights on raising £1bn for good causes by 2023". UK Fundraising. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  10. ^ May, Melanie (6 December 2022). "Big Give Christmas Challenge raises record £28.6mn". UK Fundraising. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Nicola Jane REED personal appointments – Find and update company information – GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  12. ^ scenetvblog (3 April 2015). "News| Shortlist Announced for 6th Reed.co.uk Short Film Competition". SceneTV. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  13. ^ Pullam, Christina (23 April 2015). "REED.CO.UK SHORT FILM COMPETITION WINNERS ANNOUNCED". mirror. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  14. ^ "The best ever Mdina Biennale launch that never was – The Malta Independent". www.independent.com.mt. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  15. ^ Gardner, Anthony (2018). Fox. Nicola Reed, Rosanna Reed. Edinburgh. ISBN 978-1-910895-29-0. OCLC 1045444597.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ^ "this is about — Nicola Arkell Reed". this is about – Nicola Arkell Reed. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
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