The Arundel Bee Project

WITH Spring just around the corner, it won’t be long before all sorts of pollinators are hatching, coming out of hibernation and generally making an appearance after a long period of winter inactivity.

For the supporters of the Arundel Bee Project however, work has continued through the winter on several projects in readiness for the start of the new pollinator cycle.

Since late November, a group of volunteers have been meeting each Sunday morning and clearing the verges on either side of the walk and cycle way that was built a few years back leading to Arundel Station. Its been hard work as weeds, grasses and nettles have taken a firm foothold over the last few years (at the time of writing over 50 black bin bags full have been removed, and there will probably be double this number before everything has been dug up), but the plan is to seed both sides of the path with wildflowers in early Spring with the planting of bulbs and plugs in subsequent years, thereby creating a much more pleasant environment while also providing a much needed food source for pollinators. If this is successful, the next stage will be clearing the grass area next to the taxi rank and seeding and planting to make the station concourse look more attractive. Volunteers for this work are very welcome- we currently meet at 10:00am every Sunday morning on the walkway and will continue to do so until the work is done, so please come and join in if you have an hour or two to spare- all help is much appreciated.

The Community Apiary is also being developed. I am delighted to have the help of local beekeepers Doug and Christine Hart, and between us we have planted what in time will become a new hedge in front of the existing woven barrier. Arun District Council very kindly donated a number of whips of various types last summer, complete with supports and protective covers. It was unfortunately too dry to plant them last year so they have wintered on my allotment, but they are now in place and should grow fairly rapidly over the next few years.

Nick with Christine and Doug Hart

The hives in the apiary are fairly quiet at the time of writing, with the bees generally clustered around the queens inside, only making brief appearances on the warmest winter days. It won’t be long however before the queens start laying thousands of eggs again and the bee numbers will rapidly increase. With the hopeful retreat of Covid, we are hoping this summer to be able to show interested local residents what the inside of a hive looks like during our weekly hive examinations and explain what the bees are doing- maybe some who come to look will become interested enough to become beekeepers themselves?

Lastly, and I know this has been mentioned a few times in the past, the plan for installing planters of pollinator friendly plants in the town looks like it’s finally going
to happen. These are the old wooden and metal cattle troughs that have been kindly donated by Angmering Estate. It’s a complicated process involving applications for licences, insurance etc, plus of course securing them, filling them with soil, planting and watering and this has been much complicated by Covid, but I’m hopeful that they will be in place this summer. There is already one in situ tucked away at the edge of the Pollinators Garden opposite the Arundel Museum, in case anyone is curious to see what they look like. Filled with flowers, they not only will provide for pollinators, but will also help our town look even more attractive than it already is!