Introducing the Bee Team

A year ago today we welcomed our first bee hive to Nepgill Park. Having won numerous awards for Nepgill's bee-friendly wildflower areas over the years, introducing honeybees seemed a natural progression. One year on, we're delighted to report that our honeybees have survived their first winter (and frostiest April on record) and appear to be in excellent health.
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Shortly after we installed the hive last May, our first colony of bees took up residence courtesy of local Blencogo beekeeper Adrian Cozens. As well as supplying us with bees, Adrian offered to show our community beekeeping team the ropes, sharing his expertise and also mentoring them through their first year of 'socially-distanced' beekeeping! Twelve months on, the knowledge and experience they've amassed is impressive, thanks primarily to Adrian's ongoing support and the team's unwavering commitment.

Our six-strong bee team, comprised of park residents and neighbours, share a range of beekeeping tasks throughout the year, including weekly inspections to monitor hive health and activity levels. Between autumn and spring honeybees require supplementary feeding with sugar syrup and prior to winter the hive must be insulated to ensure the survival of the colony. Another key date in the calendar is treating the bees with oxalic acid in January to control their arch-enemy – the parasitic varroa mite.

Now that the bees have settled in and Covid restrictions have eased, the bee team is looking forward to extracting the vast quantities of honey these incredible creatures produce and experimenting with some traditional beeswax crafts, starting with candle making. Plans are also afoot to introduce a second hive as our bee population grows. There's plenty to keep us busy and, hopefully, our bee team will continue to attract new members too. It's free to join and we supply all the equipment needed to tend the hives except for the beekeeping suit, which is up to each individual to provide. If you wish to get involved or learn more about our bees, please contact the Park Office – we'd love to hear from you.