Supporting Bees & Refugees: A £4,000 Grant to Help Community Grow and the Bees Thrive
October 12, 2026
From a personal refuge to a shared purpose
A shared garden, a clay oven and a hive full of bees might seem like an unusual starting point for rebuilding a sense of belonging. At Bees & Refugees, they offer opportunities to learn, contribute and spend time together.
We recently visited the charity’s farm in Otford, near Sevenoaks, to meet founder Ali Alzein and learn more about the work behind our £4,000 grant for its Buzzing Spring initiative.
Representing Focus Foundation were Heidi Crawford, Grant and Charity Coordinator; Alix Burchell, Marketing Executive; and Charlotte Gough-Cooper, Community Fundraiser.
From exploring the workshop to pulling on beekeeping suits, it was a chance to discover how this inspiring charity brings communities together through nature.
The origins of Bees & Refugees
Ali founded Bees & Refugees in 2019, drawing on his own experience of displacement and the comfort he found in beekeeping.
After fleeing Syria, he was granted asylum in the UK in 2014. Memories of his grandfather’s farm inspired him to begin keeping bees in London, helping him cope with the trauma he had experienced. In 2019, he left his work in the luxury fashion industry to share that experience with other refugees and people seeking asylum.
Today, the charity provides practical beekeeping training, starter hive kits and safe places to keep colonies. Its work brings refugees, vulnerable groups and local residents together, creating opportunities to build skills, confidence and friendships while caring for the natural world. It also supports the UK’s native black honeybee population through responsible beekeeping.
Finding community in a new home
The latest Home Office figures show that 85,891 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending June 2026.
For someone rebuilding their life, finding safety can be followed by the challenge of finding connection: getting to know neighbours, building confidence and feeling part of a community.
Bees & Refugees creates opportunities for those connections to develop through shared activities. Whether tending plants or learning to care for a hive, participants have something to work towards together and skills to share with one another.
Helping connection grow through our £4,000 grant
Through Buzzing Spring, Bees & Refugees plans to restore one acre of neglected land at its farm, creating wildflower and medicinal herb gardens where older local residents and refugees can garden together.
Our £4,000 grant will support soil preparation, plants, tools, community sessions and volunteer coordination over eight months. The initiative aims to reduce loneliness, help refugees build connections locally and create a welcoming outdoor space with a shared purpose.
Plans include introducing more than 20 native and medicinal plant species, providing additional habitat for pollinators alongside opportunities to learn about and care for the land.
For Focus Foundation, this brings together two areas we care deeply about: positive mental health and wellbeing, and strengthening local communities. Through regular gardening sessions, the charity aims to create a space where both the landscape and new friendships can flourish.
Meeting the bees
Of course, a visit to Bees & Refugees would not have been complete without meeting the bees themselves!
After exploring the workshop and seeing hives being prepared, we put on our beekeeping suits and headed out to see the colonies up close. Ali introduced us to the intricate architecture of the comb and the organisation of life inside the hive, sharing his knowledge with an infectious enthusiasm that kept us talking about bees for days afterwards.
There was so much to take in, from the way the bees work together to the care involved in looking after their colonies. And we couldn’t leave without tasting the honey, which was every bit as delicious as we had hoped.
Spending that time together outdoors gave us a glimpse of what makes the charity’s approach so engaging: the opportunity to slow down, pay attention and learn something new about the life around us.
Bringing businesses closer to nature
Bees & Refugees also invites businesses to get involved through team days, volunteering, workshops and beekeeping experiences.
These offer colleagues time together in nature while learning about pollinators, responsible beekeeping and the importance of caring for local habitats. They also provide a practical way for businesses to engage their teams with their wider community.
For those interested in a longer partnership, the charity designs, installs and manages beehives and pollinator habitats. Each site is assessed for suitable hive numbers, available forage and the protection of wild pollinators, ensuring that installations are appropriate for their surroundings.
Through these partnerships, businesses can support the charity’s work while helping their teams develop a greater understanding of, and respect for, the natural world.
Proud supporters of Buzzing Spring
We left the farm with new knowledge, a real appreciation for Ali’s warmth and vision, and a clearer understanding of what Bees & Refugees is building. It was a pleasure to spend time together, learn from him and see the space where so much of this incredible work takes place.
We’re very proud to support Buzzing Spring and look forward to seeing the garden, and the connections it nurtures, grow.
To learn more about Bees & Refugees, including its community activities and corporate partnership opportunities, visit the charity’s website.
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