[New] Tree Bee Rescue is a new service launched to help save an unrecognised and unloved national asset

Every week somewhere in the UK wild tree-living honeybees are being destroyed. Why does this matter? Because we rely on Honeybees to pollinate our crops. 70% of crop species responsible for feeding 90% of the world are pollinated by bees. 90% of perishable food farming depends on pollination by honeybees. But for too long we’ve taken them for granted. Now it’s time to recognise the value of honeybees. It’s time for

Tell us about the BeesMAX mission; BeesMax is a not-for-profit company and our mission is to reverse the decline of the UK bee population. We ensure companies, schools and organisations make a long-lasting impact on the environment and the sustainability of our planet.

Our sister company is Surrey Honey Farm (now trading as Tree Bee Rescue www.treebeerescue. org) The Surrey Honey Farm mission is to promote the collection of and conservation of the UK’s wild tree-living honeybees. Currently the tree-living honeybee’s unique ecosystem within the tree trunk is being destroyed each time a beekeeper is called out to remove some of the bees from the tree and domesticate them. By splitting the log open this is the best they can do. These bees, if they survive the trauma, then go on to be used for honey production. The Surrey Honey Farm Tree Bee Rescue service aims to highlight their plight in the national media. We will rescue, and conserve wherever possible.

How challenging has the last couple of years been for the organisation and what is the outlook going forward? Covid did not stop our beehive management because honeybees are classified by DEFRA as farming livestock and as such an essential activity. Production of honey as a food continued. However, the BeesMAX client interactive work ceased which was very difficult for us. But being a totally outside activity, easily separated from each other and contained within beekeepers ppe our interactive services were soon restored!

We have is a good story for BeesMAX to come out of the COVID era. We repurposed the use of UVC Ultraviolet in the “c” range of frequencies and are applying for a Kingston Innovation Business Award for this initiative. Commonly used to sterilise swimming pool water and fishponds we saw UVC being used on the New York Trains (whilst they were not in use!) to kill COVID. This led me to investigate if it would kill wax moth which is a highly endemic pest in honeybee colonies and it did work very successfully. Now BeesMAX has a unique solution to honeycomb storage and killing wax moth more generally which is a huge step forward, if you are into bees that is! We do not intend to patent this repurposing and it is too significant to hide away behind lengthy legalities.

How do you engage with local schools and what are the benefits gained from this partnership?

BeesMAX looked at the traditional ethos of teaching the art and craft of ancient beekeeping skills in schools and saw it didn’t actually help teach very much the national curriculum STEM subjects, so we wanted to change that. Students are there to learn the stem subjects not to become beekeeper’s presa. Beekeeping is a path towards environmental studies which is great but a very narrow focus. We wanted to broaden the engagement and funnel what is very valuable teaching time to science, computing mechanical engineering etc. So we are creating a DIY sensory kit that students have to design, construct and test the gathering of raw data from the beehives. The path towards environmental studies continues but more importantly is underpinned by science, engineering and computing.

Similarly, how can businesses and organisations get involved with yourself and what are the benefits; BeesMAX provides a range of services to help companies, schools and organisations protect honeybees and help them thrive. We essentially provide a rental facility with wraparound services to accompany our traditional beehives. Now we also have a complimentary service for clients to become involved with, in the rehoming and conserving on their premises free-living honeybees nests that have been recused from trees being taken down, burnt and/or shredded.

Do you have any specific initiatives or projects that you would like businesses to get involved with?

The Tree Bee Rescue Initiative; Domesticated honeybees (Apis mellifera but also known as the Beekeeper’s traditional honeybees) ) play a huge role as pollinators of our perishable food. But our UK original wild honeybees can still be found living in hollow trees. These unrecognised and unloved tree-living honeybees play an even greater role than the beekeepers domesticated honeybees as they are the protectors of the only original wild British Honeybee gene stock. That unique gene stock is becoming increasingly diluted and rare. Domesticated honey bees are not well-adjusted to survive in the confines of hollow trees in the wild. Honeybees increase biodiversity, maintain ecosystems and ensure the future of a sustainable planet. But for too long we’ve taken them for granted. Now it’s time to recognise the value of wild freeliving honeybees. It’s time for your direct action. Wild unloved tree-living honeybees need our help.

The benefits are;

● Fully managed beehive installation at your property with regular visits as required.

● Rewilding of local landscapes with tree-living honeybees that were being destroyed.

● Sharing of beehives with local schools and community groups.

● STEM learning and research with schools and universities to broaden outreach and engagement

● Providing in-hive cameras and live streaming for educational purposes or simply to increase engagement and awareness.

● Teaching the craft of beekeeping

● Being able to demonstrate that you are taking an active part in the preservation and repopulation of honeybees.

● Creating a pollination zone of several square miles as client-based honeybee colonies fly up to 4 miles in any direction, vastly improving the chance of wildflower regeneration. These flowers produces seed the wild birds relish. The remaining seeds will increase diversity and the quality of undergrowth for mammals and all the other wild animal we so desperately need to save. We need to eco-campions to lead the way and make a difference.

● Staff and student interactions are a fundamental principal of our services. We provide beekeeping ppe suits so anyone of any age can experience and become involved. What can be a highly anticipated stressful situation is converted to an rewarding and personally life long experience people never forget.

● Whether it be a corporate lunch club gathering or an after school activity the wellbeing appreciation and soul searching that happens in the moment of engagement is