Maynards Bees

We are very excited to welcome the arrival of a colony of bees. They arrived on 18th June from a very generous beekeeper who donated one of her established hives to the sanctuary.

Why are bees important?

We simply wouldn't be able to survive without bees. As well as boosting our mood when we see them in our woods and gardens, they're crucial to our physical health and the health of the wider environment.

Bees pollinate food crops

In the UK alone, around 70 crops depend on or benefit from bee pollination. While there are other methods of pollination, including by other animals and the wind, wild bees can pollinate on a much bigger and more efficient scale.

Estimates suggest it would cost UK farmers an incredible £1.8 billion a year to manually pollinate their crops.

Bees feed livestock

Bees pollinate many of the crops used for animal feed. Without them, it would be harder to produce lots of our meat, egg and dairy products.

Bees prop up the ecosystem

Without bees (and thousands of other insect species that call the UK home), it wouldn't be long before our ecosystem collapsed. Bees pollinate our wild trees and wild flowers, which then support other insects, which then support birds, bats, mammals and everything up the food chain with food and shelter.