” From a soggy summer, use of pesticides to climate change, Sussex bees have been struggling to survive – luckily Sussex entrepreneurs are battling to save them and ensure they thrive”
.…’Some Sussex pioneers are creating havens for bees but in a way that helps all pollinator populations. The South Downs National Park Trust is helping farmers, private landowners, parish councils, local authorities and schools with land to get access to up to £5000 in funding to plant bursts of wildflowers. Bee Lines, which was launched in 2019, has already raised £75,000 and with it eight havens – around 50 hectares – will be created including at Lancing College, Truleigh Hill near Brighton and Lewes Cemetery.
In Brooklands Park, Worthing, a disused council yard has now become a home to hives but also a place where children can see the bees in action. Bees&Seas is being run by the Worthing Honey Collective, which has an apiary of five hives at Worthing Leisure Centre.
Celine Shabbas Murphy is one of the directors of We Are Food Pioneers, the social community project behind the apiaries, and says education is as key as conservation. ‘Recently, we were able to offer a beekeeping course to six local children,’ she says, adding they are hoping to offer more training in the future including running after-school and holiday clubs’….
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