Even though the way we go about our daily lives has temporarily changed, it doesn’t mean that we can’t come together for an event to champion a Cumbrian charity. We might just need to be a little more resourceful, to do things a little differently and, of course, at a distance from each other.

Members of the public did great work supporting our bee-friendly animation at the first stage of public voting in December. The film has made it to the final and is now a contender for the People’s Choice award of the UK-wide Charity Film Awards which will be broadcast live online.

We now need the public to vote one final time for our inspiring animation about bees.

Tanya St. Pierre, Project Manager for Get Cumbria Buzzing, said: “We’re so excited to have made it to the next round of this national competition and are asking members of the public to please vote for us.

“It’s easy to vote: just log on here. You have until Tuesday 21 April to vote but please VOTE NOW to make sure your vote counts!”

But rather than simply voting, why not also attend the whole of the Charity Film Awards from the comfort of your own home? The ceremony with be live-streamed to the Charity Film Awards website via Fundraising Everywhere, and will be broadcast to Facebook and YouTube at 7pm on Tuesday 21 April. So you can see live if your vote has made the difference. 

The charity is positively encouraging you to dress for the occasion. You could dress in yellow and black for bee stripes – or something floral! Let your imagination go wild(flower)! Sip cocktails or mocktails, take selfies, enjoy nibbles and celebrate an astonishing collection of heart-warming and positive films for good.

We would love you to share, through our social media channels, photos of you enjoying the film awards and championing the cause for Cumbria’s bees. #GetCumbriaBuzzing

Tanya explains why the Get Cumbria Buzzing project matters: “More than half of UK bee, butterfly and moth species have declined in the past 50 years, and 30 species of bees face extinction. Over the last 75 years we’ve lost 97% of our flower rich meadows, 50% of our hedgerows, and 60% of flowering plants are in decline. This project will create 115 hectares of wildflower-rich habitat in Cumbria to help boost pollinators.

“We hope our short film will help to spread the word and encourage everyone to grow pollinator-friendly plants in their own backyard, garden and window boxes. The Charity Film Awards are a great opportunity to bring a national spotlight to a Cumbrian project. We urge everyone to get behind us and vote for the film.”

The short film is part of the charity’s Get Cumbria Buzzing campaign, designed to raise awareness of the serious decline in the numbers of bees and other pollinating insects and to inspire people to take positive action to create wildflower-rich habitats.

Click here to watch the Charity Film Awards live stream - you can register your interest, or log on just before 7pm on Tuesday 21 April.

The film was made by Haltwhistle Film Project.

Get Cumbria Buzzing is a £1.6 million project, made possible by National Lottery Players and with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Highways England, Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust, Rees Jeffreys Road Fund, Tesco, Allerdale Borough Council, Solway Coast AONB and The Hadfield Trust.

Administered by Cumbria Community Foundation, the following organisations are also funding the project: Fairfield Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund, Robin Rigg West Cumbria Fund, Winscales Moor Community Benefit Fund and United Utilities Legacy Fund.