{"id":6620,"date":"2021-07-29T14:05:58","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T13:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/?p=6620"},"modified":"2026-07-21T17:43:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T16:43:16","slug":"campus-beehives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2021\/07\/29\/campus-beehives\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus Beehives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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At Greenwich, <\/strong>we are committed to sensitively managing our grounds, with our Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) 2020-2025<\/a><\/strong> outlining how this occurs. To help engagement, education and conservation we have beehives across all three campuses. All of our beehives are managed by external licenced beekeepers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read below to find out more about our different apiaries. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Avery Hill – Apiary One<\/strong> – Eltham Bees<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apiary One is situated behind our pond of the Edible Garden, and is managed by Colin Edwards and Eltham Bees<\/strong>. Eltham Bees are a small family business running 80+colonies around Eltham down as far as Wilmington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019ve always loved working with the bees having worked alongside a beefarmer in my teens!!” Colin Edwards<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainability is a big part of their ethos. Their hives are made in the UK from local red cedar. Over the years they moved away from foreign queens and now run all UK bred queens. Our breeders\u2019 queens are UK mated using the Buckfast strain from the West Country & Scotland. They try to recycle and upcycle equipment when possible and recycle their our own beeswax for new wax foundation sheets adding to our sterilised wooden frames that have been in service before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eltham Bees produces 100’s of honey jars, find out where to buy them (though we do have some donated for competition prizes!) by checking out their website! <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Avery Hill – Apiary Two<\/strong> – John & Christine Hird<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Located in the green behind Southwood House, John and Christine Hird have been looking after this apiary since 2012. They have trained a number of staff and students to help over the years, and donate a few jars each year for prizes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producing about 80 jars a year, you will also find this honey for sale within the SU Village Shop!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Greenwich – Apiary One<\/strong> – Paul Youthed<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This apiary is located by Devonport Hotel, with Paul Youthed kindly taking on its upkeep in October 2020 (following previous keeper Camilla’s move to Scotland). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul has apiaries across London and is a National Park City Ranger working with community, business and local government to help make London a better place for bees and people. We cannot wait to try the first jars of honey produced from these hives! You can find out more about Paul on his website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Greenwich – Apiary Two – Bee-Naturals<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Vagg, aka Bee-Naturals is our newest keeper, looking after the apiary that can be found in a truly unique location, roof garden 1 on our Stockwell Street Library. Paul has looked after this area since June 2021. He also boosts the recognition of being awarded the Best Beekeeper of the year, twice! You can find out more about Bee-Naturals including their products for sale from his website. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Medway – Apiary <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medway only has one apiary; known locally as ‘John the bee man’, John has been looking after this apiary for nearly 10 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The honey produced from these hives are sold internally through staff in the Natural Resources Institute (NRI), but you will find some as donated prizes from time to time. Around 20 people have been trained through these hives over the years, making it a valuable education tool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Medway<\/figure>
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At Greenwich, we are committed to sensitively managing our grounds, with our Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) 2020-2025 outlining how this occurs. To help engagement, education and conservation we have beehives across all three campuses. All of our beehives are managed by external licenced beekeepers. Read below to find out more about our… Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":6626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biodiversity","category-edible-garden"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1997,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2014\/11\/17\/year-avery-hill-gardener-forager\/","url_meta":{"origin":6620,"position":0},"title":"My year as an Avery Hill gardener & forager by Alice Coyle","author":"Simon Goldsmith","date":"17 November 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As the beautiful Autumn colours begin to fade into the stark grey, white and blues of winter, the gardeners\u2019 task changes from a focus on planting, watering, weeding and harvesting to one of replenishing the soil, picking the last of the harvest and tucking the garden in for the winter.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Biodiversity"","block_context":{"text":"Biodiversity","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/biodiversity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/11\/IMG_1359-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/11\/IMG_1359-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/11\/IMG_1359-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/11\/IMG_1359-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/11\/IMG_1359-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2014\/11\/IMG_1359-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2011\/12\/21\/students-working-for-sustainability-and-festive-cheer\/","url_meta":{"origin":6620,"position":1},"title":"Students Working for Sustainability and Festive Cheer","author":"","date":"21 December 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This week the Sustainability Team has been finding a little bit of time in between eating mince pies and chocolates to consider the opportunities we have for students working in the Sustainability Office. We met Sarah Sheikh from the Business School, who has been encouraged by Mary McCartney (Business School\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Student engagement"","block_context":{"text":"Student engagement","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/partnerships-and-engagement\/student-engagement\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-5dRKILnU7ko\/TVLH9NAZhMI\/AAAAAAAAAGw\/3kGWr7EDTfo\/s320\/110208_GreenWeek_Medway%2B025.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":401,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2012\/05\/25\/two-hives-from-one-bees-at-southwood-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":6620,"position":2},"title":"Two hives from one! Bees at Southwood House","author":"","date":"25 May 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last Friday saw our bees at Southwood House in Avery Hill start a\u00a0swarm and the formation of a new colony. The building services team spotted the bees gathering in a swarm underneath one of the two hives while doing a walk-round check of the campus. After a couple of telephone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Biodiversity"","block_context":{"text":"Biodiversity","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/biodiversity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/05\/Photo-18-05-2012-15-53-20.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/05\/Photo-18-05-2012-15-53-20.jpg 1x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/05\/Photo-18-05-2012-15-53-20.jpg 1.5x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/05\/Photo-18-05-2012-15-53-20.jpg 2x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/05\/Photo-18-05-2012-15-53-20.jpg 3x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/05\/Photo-18-05-2012-15-53-20.jpg 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":564,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2012\/07\/17\/11th-july-garden-work-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":6620,"position":3},"title":"11th July Garden Work Day","author":"Simon Goldsmith","date":"17 July 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last Wednesday's weather was a little undecided but gave us some time to do some work in the garden - in between shiny sunny spells and torrential showers of rain. The tasks of the day included weeding, harvesting and pruning: There were many vegetables to harvest as everything kept growing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Edible Garden"","block_context":{"text":"Edible Garden","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/biodiversity\/edible-garden\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/07\/SA1_0064.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/07\/SA1_0064.jpg 1x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/07\/SA1_0064.jpg 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":759,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2012\/10\/26\/university-of-greenwich-bees\/","url_meta":{"origin":6620,"position":4},"title":"University of Greenwich Bees","author":"","date":"26 October 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This week we are given an update from the various bee hives we have across the \u00a0University of Greenwich. Since getting hives at Southwood House on the Avery Hill Campus (looked after by John & Christine Hird) a couple of years ago we have added further hives at Avery Hill,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Biodiversity"","block_context":{"text":"Biodiversity","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/biodiversity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"NRI Beekepers group inspecting their hives","src":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/10\/8042991421_86abf899b0_c.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/10\/8042991421_86abf899b0_c.jpg 1x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/10\/8042991421_86abf899b0_c.jpg 1.5x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2012\/10\/8042991421_86abf899b0_c.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2325,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2015\/01\/25\/week-life-sustainability-projects-officer\/","url_meta":{"origin":6620,"position":5},"title":"A week in the life of a Sustainability Projects Officer!","author":"Simon Goldsmith","date":"25 January 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Emily Mason, Sustainability Projects Officer here at the Sustainable Development Unit, gives us a run down of a typical week in the role. \u00a0Monday I always try and make sure that I start the week at Avery Hill and at my desk. This is my time to catch up on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sustainability Team"","block_context":{"text":"Sustainability Team","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/sustainability-team\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/01\/1374062_10152501129222080_374481220_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/01\/1374062_10152501129222080_374481220_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/01\/1374062_10152501129222080_374481220_n.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/01\/1374062_10152501129222080_374481220_n.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/07\/pexels-photo-5247963.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6620"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7877,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6620\/revisions\/7877"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}