Since the 1850's bee keeping has changed dramatically.
Making a difference.
Hive Clusters.
Our plan is to put clusters of bee hives together in the same location. An optimal number is ten bee hives per site, with around six miles between each cluster. This allows for enough bee colonies to assist with the pollination, without presenting an issue with the local resources that are shared in the area with other pollinator species.
Best of British.
Our native species of honey bee, Apis mellifera Mellifera is best suited to our climate and has evolved over thousands of years to work optimally within the British Isles. Over the last 100 years, importation of foreign bees have had a detrimental effect on the population of native bees. Our organisation is driving a new focus on correcting this issue.
The New Old.
The natural home of the honey bee is the interior of a hollow tree. For centuries bee keepers used skeps (inverted woven baskets) to house their colonies. Our ‘new old’ approach is to revert back to the use of long horizontal hives (records of them go back to the 1500’s), moving away from the 19th century inventions of vertical, stackable bee hives.
Be Cool, Stay Warm.
Our use of insulated long horizontal hives, with one and a half inches (38mm) of natural wool gives the equivalent of 5 to 6 inches of solid wood. The design also includes for an insulated roof, which ensures that the hive remains at a relatively even temperature, during both summer and winter seasons.
Theft and Vandalism.
In some areas of Britain, beehives are targeted for theft or even mindless vandalism. This is can be costly for both the bee population and the bee keeper. Our solution is to place the bee hives into a small shipping container. This may seem expensive, but it’s more cost effective than replacing ten beehives and colonies.
Honey and Wax.
The collection of the honey and wax produced in our hives is not our main driver for the creation of our native British Bee conservation, but there will be excess of both left over from each year. A strong colony will make 2 too 3 times as much honey that it needs for its own consumption.
