The importance of bees in creating and maintaining a flourishing eco-system is well documented. Plants rely on bees for pollination and fewer bees would mean the decline or even disappearance of those plants.
We are therefore excited to be able to reveal we now have colonies of bees who call our training centre “home”. Sharing the site with our players, our 60,000 bees have two fantastic Arsenal hives.
The introduction of the bees was the brainchild of our grounds and gardening team. You may remember it was that same team who have already taken several new initiatives at the training centre, including the planting of our wild flowers, to reduce our environmental impact and to encourage the increase in bio-diversity.
Mick Bath, Stuart Aiston, Jack Perry and Jack Elkins have created the perfect space for the new hives, all under the watchful and enthusiastic eye of Andy Purser, the head groundsperson for the training centre. The bees have created a real buzz of excitement with many staff around the site getting involved whenever their busy schedules allow.
Looking after 60,000 bees isn’t a simple task. Bees need to be given the right conditions to develop their colonies and it has meant that all our staff who look after our insects have had to undergo training with our friends at the St Albans District Beekeepers Associastion (SABKA). Thanks especially to Andy at SABKA who has been a constant source of assistance.
The bees are now well established and have started to make honey. The chef at the training ground is excitedly awaiting his first jar, so we can see what Mikel and his squad think of what our bees have made!
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
