Fri, 07 Aug 2009 1:46p.m.
I’ve just been informed via a 3news.co.nz World article that having a beehive in the backyard may become a trend among the ‘eco-conscious and affluent’ in the UK.
The area I live and work in – Chiswick in London – seems to have a fairly high concentration of people who fit that description so I’m determined to see one of these ‘Beehaus’ home-hives for myself.
The intention is to save the apparently dwindling bee population of Britain and in turn, its crops that are lacking pollinators.
I’m told that Natural England chief scientist Tom Tew said "there's no reason why our towns and cities should exist as wildlife deserts".
I’ve got to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the abundance of wild life around our neighbourhood. I didn’t realise until I arrived here that animals from Disney movies hang out in the gardens around your house.
Squirrels really do collect acorns …and apple cores and M&M’s or what ever else the tourists feed them. Foxes are also about on the suburban streets late at night tearing apart rubbish bags. They certainly are crafty. Richmond Park – the larges park in London - is close by and it even has deer in it!
So, bees? I think that the swarming scenario that opponents to the trend have mentioned sounds like a recipe for a Hollywood movie. On the other hand, honey is expensive here – New Zealand Honey is recognised as particularly good quality and is widely available in London. A free supply of 20kg a year, so say the manufacturers of ‘Beehaus’, is equivalent to about 80 250g jars!
Another discovery since moving here is that any hayfever symptoms you might suffer in New Zealand are 10 fold when you arrive here. One theory on this is that the Northern Hemisphere pollen varieties are different to back home and your body has less immunity to it. Eating honey from bees that collect pollen near where you live is supposed to be the cure. I can’t argue. After getting through a jar of Richmond Honey over the last couple of months, I’ve noticed a huge decline in my sniffs and sneezes.
Over at the National Bee Unit website I see that Andy Wattam has just got himself a fantastic job title as the new national bee inspector. Now there’s some inspiration to start climbing the ranks of the bee keeping industry from your own backyard!
The idea of a beehive in my backyard does appeal to me… perhaps not to my neighbours. However, I’m still a long way from being convinced that forking out £495 for a ‘Beehaus’ is really worth it to acquire a time-consuming and potentially hazardous hobby.