Life’s oh so sweet for the busy beekeepers
New hives in place
Life is sweeter than ever for the Avondale Community Beekeepers after they landed a £20,000 National Lottery windfall.
The cash, which the group collected as winners in the Glasgow West People’s Project, has helped them expand their bee sites.
Some 35 new nucleus colonies are now in place at various locations in Gilmourton, Brownhill, Strathaven, Stonehouse and Ashgill.
Some have been adopted by local schools and families in the area and the popularity of the community group continues to grow.
Indeed with lots of “newbees” joining up, the community beepers are now 60-strong and half of them are very enthusiastic youngsters.
David Paterson, who started the Beekeepers project, is delighted with the response initiatives so far.
And he’s keeping his fingers crossed for honey later in the year.
He said: “Last week the group took delivery of 35 nucleus colonies, or ‘nucs’ of honeybees.
“This was the culmination of our winning bid to the People’s Project and the bees are all now safely installed in their new hives.
“The kids had a great time putting their new bees into their new homes.
“We are looking forward to great summer of beekeeping and hopefully some lovely honey later on.”
The Big Lottery Fund donation saw the beekeepers picked as one of three groups to be awarded funding in the west of Scotland.
The donation from the People’s Project has also allowed the group to buy an observation hive.
This will allow them to take bees out into the community and visit organisations like local schools and nursing homes. to their new