Back in May we went live with our 'More Bees Please' Crowdfunder campaign. We managed to raise the majority of what we needed for a new breeding unit. We have struggled in recent years to get new queen bees mated mainly due to poor weather conditions. The aim behind our breeding project was to fertilise our queens through artificial insemination (AI), taking the guess work out of the process and ultimately increasing bee numbers.

The last few months have been very exciting; after the Crowdfunder ended we were able to send Mark up to Scotland for a Honey Bee AI course and on his return, equipment was ordered and the bespoke bee breeding unit built. For a full update head over to our Crowdfunder project page (http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/more-bees-please/updates).

2016 saw the introduction of our new honey mezz, or Honey Extraction Room and this is where the last of our Summer honey has been kept ready for extraction. The majority has come from Eggardon Hill and a few local orchards, which are rich in hedgerow bee fodder throughout the final part of the season.