Planet / Features
Beehive Yourself!
The UK’s bee population has reduced by over 50% in the last 25 years – and is still in danger – due to a fatal combination of climate change, reduced habitats, increasing use of pesticides and Colony Collapse Disorder. But one Bristol-based project is trying to arrest the decline at grass roots level. “There are lots of bee initiatives that are about tackling governments or changing policy,” says Heather Moore, the founder of Bee The Change. “But I feel this one is about working in our communities. We’re really starting from the bottom up.”
Heather first became fascinated by bees as a biology student at Sussex University. “The college hired a professor of apiculture – the only one in the country at the time – and that’s how I learned how important they are to the planet’s ecosystem.”
is needed now More than ever
Her plan is to set up a series of community-owned beehives in and around the city – the first has already been earmarked for Nailsworth. Bee The Change also provides workshops in schools, has launched an ‘adopt a beehive’ scheme and recently held the first Bristol Bee Fair at Sneyd Park Nature Reserve, which saw kids (and adults) paint hives, harvest honey and discover more about their current plight.
Crucial to the project is an emphasis on ‘natural’ beekeeping’, which, Heather argues, is the only way to preserve the long term health of our bee population. “Conventional beekeeping has evolved the same way as industrial farming with an emphasis on honey production. Natural beekeepers don’t fiddle so much with the hives, don’t stop bees from swarming and don’t take so much honey – all of which makes them less prone to diseases. It’s much more bee-centic.”
Something has to change, she maintains, otherwise the consequences for us all could be dire. “Without bees there are no flowers, no trees and no oxygen. Bees are a key species. If they die, the world dies. We should do everything we can to make sure they flourish.”