New Sheffield Project Creating a Hive of Activity

Sheffield is all abuzz with the news that 15 new honeybee bee hives have been installed at unusual sites across the city.

Groundwork Sheffield’s Bee Buddies project is stationing a total of 35 new hives in innovative urban spaces like green roofs and community gardens. These sites demonstrate that bees can thrive in cities, and that beekeeping is a hobby suitable for those with little access to green space.

The latest hive installation takes bees to new heights – their new home on the green roof of The Cube on Shoreham Street, run by Derwent Living. This rooftop site on a bustling Sheffield street challenges the traditional ‘cottage garden’ image of beekeeping.

The introduced hives across the city will be managed by a Head Beekeeper, with residents and visitors of designated sites being given the opportunity to attend free training to learn how to look after the hives themselves.

Anna Cooper, Development Officer for Groundwork Sheffield who is managing the project, said “By placing sites in unusual city centre locations, we hope to catch the attention of people who wouldn’t normally take an interest in beekeeping. Underused spaces like rooftops can make ideal sites for apiaries, and help to reverse the dramatic fall in honeybee numbers.”

Groundwork is offering free two-hour beekeeping taster sessions to give people a chance to try beekeeping for the first time. A more advanced two-day beekeeping course will also be on offer for people already familiar with the hobby. The first taster course is running on Thursday 7th October, and the first two-day course runs on Wednesday 13th – Thursday 14th October at Wood Lane Countryside Centre in Stannington.