Preparing for the Refug-bees

Six smiley GG Yorkies turned up on a sunny Sunday morning to dig bramble roots.

The next phase of the Holgate Community Orchard and Apiary is to clear a previously very overgrown plot to make space for plants and bees. Instead of an apiary with honey producing hives the new plan is to create a 'free hive' for wild bees to find and make their homes. But first, we needed to dig over the ground where we'd previously cut back brambles to prepare the ground for planting. Bee friendly plants will be planted in the space at a later date, ready to signal to the bees that they are welcome to make their home there.

We started with the ashes of the bonfire we'd made on our previous task - removing debris, bramble roots and digging over the first corner of the plot.

There's a lot of digging to be done, so we'll be back for regular Sunday morning sessions over the coming months.