Matt is beginning his fifth season as a beekeeper, having completed all the courses at Blackhorse in the preceding years. Foolishly, he agreed to a gift of some bee equipment when a workmate went off to Cornwall. His curiosity was probably first aroused when at Sparsholt Agricultural College, but wisely he left with a diploma in Game, Wildlife, and Habitat Management instead. He now lives with his wife and chickens in the Devil's Punch Bowl, working as the National Trust's Property Warden. Matt is, not surprisingly, enthusiastic about the conservation value of bees, and besides caring for a few colonies himself, tries to spend some of his time learning and encouraging others to realise their importance.