IT HAS POTENTIAL TO FIGHT CANCER

Without bees, our natural world would look extremely different.

A lot more research is needed, but laboratory testing suggests that CBD may reduce cancer cell growth. Some people have found CBD helps with the pain and sickness associated with cancer and its treatment. It may help nausea by interacting with serotonin, a hormone that influences mood and wellbeing.

In the UK, 35 species of bee are under threat of extinction due to pesticide use, habitat loss and a number of diseases, but we can do our bit to help…

Plant nectar-rich and native flowers like primrose and marigolds to keep their bellies full from March to October (their active months).

Buy or build a bee hotel to give them somewhere to rest. If the holes are blocked, you’ve got guests!

Crack down on chemicals. To avoid pesticides, add a few natural pest-repellent plants to the garden, such as garlic and basil.

If you see a struggling bee, it may be resting. Put it gently on a bee-friendly flower or mix 50/50 white sugar

and water on a teaspoon to give it a little boost of energy. Leave the mix in a sheltered place and allow the bee enough time to recuperate.

Think you’ve got what it takes to be a fiction

writer? Enter our competition and you

might just be discovered as the next

best-selling author...

If you’re an aspiring writer, we’d love you to come up with an original story that’s either around 1,000 words or a longer

read of up to 1,500 words. The theme can be entirely up to you – it can be happy, sad, scary, romantic or anything and everything in between. If you win, you’ll not only have your

story printed in the magazine, but you will pocket £500 in prize money too. So go on, get writing – we can’t wait to read all of your

mini-masterpieces!

The judges

Editor-in-chief

Caroline Waterston Best-selling author of The Thunder Girls

Melanie Blake