HOME’s always been a place with a bit of a buzz about it, and now even more so than ever with our rooftop honeybee hive!
Scroll down to watch our live BeeCam
‘Why bees?’ you ask. Well, since way back in 2014 when we were first planning the move to HOME on First Street, we’ve been committed to supporting biodiversity in Manchester city centre. We looked upwards and found that the roof was the perfect place to plant our ideas and let them grow! We set our sights on bees – the hardworking, beloved emblem of Manchester – and wanted to establish a home for supporting at-risk pollinator species. Thanks to a fantastic fundraising effort by all of our team, we were able to put our plan into action, gathering all of the materials and equipment for beekeeping and training staff as apiarists at Manchester District Beekeeper Association in Heaton Park.
With wildflower seed kits from Grow Wild and donations from the green-fingered members of the team, we set to work creating forage for our new arrivals. Always striving to make sustainable choices, we’ve re-purposed old theatre lights, stage props and exhibition materials, turning them into planters – we’ve even got old washing machine drums brimming with lavender! Our bees get the best choice in Manchester too – they’ll happily fly up to two miles to seek out the flowers with the tastiest nectar that they’ll bring back to the hive to be turned into honey – wildflower meadows and hedgerows, lush canal towpaths and railway line cuttings, backyards and gardens brimming with colour are all foraging hot-spots for these busy pollinators! We’ve extracted our first ever batch of delicious HOME honey that sold out in a flash in our bookshop. Check out our interview with I Love Manchester to find out more.
Our HOME team apiarists inspect the hives weekly during the warmer months – you can watch us on the BeeCam below.