Bosco Bees Are Settling In Nicely!

The bee colony at Bosco House arrived two weeks ago and the first check on their progress took place yesterday. They are settling in nicely in their new home and are perfectly happy buzzing around the Bosco garden!

Under the watchful eye of bee expert Andrea Ku, garden volunteers Alan, Linda and Paul were shown how to inspect the hive, check on progress and identify the queen bee, named ‘Sheila’ by residents. Andrea said: “The colony is doing really well. The bees have settled in nicely, are relaxed about their new surroundings and are already collecting pollen, building cells, and making honey. Everything is fine.”

Paul said: “It’s amazing! I’ve never seen inside a beehive before. There’s loads of them, but they don’t seem to mind being looked at. They don’t bother you, they just get on with their job. They’re busy bees!”

Alan commented: “Most people think that hostels for the homeless merely put a roof over a person’s head, but there’s much more to it than that. As with our other SSHG partners (Venus, Excel Housing and New Start), here at Bosco we provide a full package of support, recreational activities and training opportunities.”

“We recently received a grant from the Ace Regenerus fund that allowed us to set up the beehive, so we’re really grateful to them. This adds another asset to our garden project at Bosco.”

“Working in the garden is just one strand of the overall support we can provide. Our service users really value working alongside volunteers from the community as it helps with their social integration and is great fun.”

If you, or someone you know, would like to volunteer some time to help in the gardens at Bosco, or at any of the SSHG projects, call Alan on 0151 944 1818, or drop him an email at alan@alanmatthews.org.uk