Campus bee hotels going from strength to strength

A campus wide conservation project is providing a safe haven for solitary bees, vital to plant pollination.

The project began in March 2018 when the Students Union Conservation Society held a practical workshop at Harper Adams which included a number of guest speakers and also hosted a workshop which saw the construction of 25 bee hotels using waste wood. The Estates Maintenance Service Manager, Arthur Broadhurst then arranged a field trip with guest speaker and entomologist Professor Keith Walters to confirm suitable habitats within pre-identified areas on the University land to site the hotels.

Solitary bees are easily overlooked but are known to pollinate plants more efficiently than honeybees. They provide an essential pollination service, pollinating our crops and ensuring that plant communities are healthy and productive. Without them, many other animals would not have the seeds, berries or plants on which they depend: in fact, approximately one in three mouthfuls of food and drink require pollination.

Estates are excited to see that the new hotels are proving popular with their new inhabitants.