Member Article

Housebuilder works with Blaydon school to help save the honey bee

David Wilson Homes North East has teamed up with a Blaydon school to help save the British honey bee.

The housebuilder donated a raised flowerbed, bee-friendly plants and a bee hotel to St Mary and St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, and gave children packets of seeds to take home.

Honey bees are under threat from loss of habitat, weather and disease and David Wilson is supporting the British Beekeepers Association in its quest to halt the decline by encouraging local children to get involved in planting bee-friendly flowers.

The company is building new homes at Riverside Crescent near to the school and Sales Director Fenton Hewitt said: “Our Bee Friendly campaign aims to help support the local environment and communities surrounding our developments.

“We were delighted to provide the school with a raised bed and the children helped our landscapers plant it out with a selection of bee-friendly shrubs and flowers. We hope they enjoyed it and will plant their packets of seeds at home.”

Jane Moseley, Operations Director at the British Beekeepers Association, said: “We don’t all have to be beekeepers to become keepers of bees. By providing plants that are in bloom from February right through to October, we are providing plentiful sources of pollen and nectar for honey bees and other pollinators.”

For more information about David Wilson’s Riverside Crescent development, visit www.dwh.co.uk or call 08448 11 66 22

How to attract bees

Ensure at least two plants are in flower from spring until late summer to provide food throughout the season.

Plant bee-friendly plants in sunny places rather than in the shade.

Look for plants at garden centres and nurseries which have either the BBKA ‘Good for Honey Bees’ or Royal Horticultural Society bee-friendly plant labels to help identify the best plants.

Provide bees with a source of water – a pond, water feature, bird bath or even a saucer will be appreciated by thirsty bees.

Never use pesticides on plants when they are in flower.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Wilson Homes North East .