There is a buzz going around EK town centre and it’s all down to the arrival of over 200,000 very special visitors.
We’ve teamed up with Scottish sustainable honey company Webster Honey to install the four hives on our roof and hope that the busy new residents will provide a load of environmental benefits, educational opportunities and, of course, some tasty honey in the months to come.
Honeybees are nature’s best pollinators, flying for up to 3 miles to pollinate the trees, plants and flowers that turn East Kilbride’s carbon dioxide into oxygen. This means the centre bees could be bringing environmental benefits to a host of EK locations including the James Hamilton Heritage Park, Calderglen Country Park, not to mention gardens across the town.
Daniel Webster, managing director of Webster Honey said: “We’ve very excited to connect with EK, East Kilbride and take our unique honeybee hive concept onto the roof of a busy shopping centre. Bees fly over huge distances, connecting with plants and flowers, so it needn’t be a rural environment that hosts them – the important thing is to sponsor a hive and increase our bee population as much as possible.
“The bees will love it here in this buzzy centre. Meik, our beekeeper will come in on a regular basis to check on them and keep everyone appraised on how they are doing.”
Jean Armstrong, Environmental Manager at EK, East Kilbride said: “We are delighted that our bee colonies have arrived and are settling in . This is a fantastic initiative that will not only provide a number of environmental benefits, but will also be a tremendous education resource for the EK community.”
With the hives being located high up on the roof of the centre, shoppers are very unlikely to see the bees as they will be out foraging and pollinating during the day. Look out for more news about future events where visitors can find out more about honeybees and why they are so important for the environment.
For further details on how Webster Honey works with businesses who want to support sustainable honey CLICK HERE
Details on Webster Honey school & nursery engagement, and age appropriate lesson plans, CLICK HERE