There’s a new buzz around a community garden on the Meadow Well estate in North Shields where bees are being used to help combat social isolation, improve confidence and build new skills post-Covid.
The five-acre hidden space at the heart of the North Tyneside estate is playing host to a unique new business, Pure Buzzin, launched by Stephen Douglas as a community interest company last year in response to the Covid lockdowns.
Since then Stephen, 32, and a group of volunteers have built 10 beehives in the garden, which have become a focal point for locals looking to re-engage with nature in an otherwise busy urban location next to the Meadow Well Metro station. The hives of more than 50,000 honey bees form the basis of a community-centred programme which is teaching a wide range of skills to Meadow Well residents, including carpentry and beekeeping.
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In turn, the bees are bringing excitement and activity onto the estate as Stephen works to end social isolation and bring people back together.
Stephen said: “I’ve always worked in the volunteer sector trying to find ways to boost interaction in the community to combat loneliness and where possible, help provide ways to improve the skills and prospects of individuals. Throughout the Covid-lockdowns, it quickly became clear to me how socially isolated many people were becoming from everyday interactions and Pure Buzzin was actually launched initially in response to this.
“I’d been volunteering in the Meadow Well Connected community garden for quite some time, helping to plant vegetables and look after the orchard and sensory area. Given my fascination with bees, I just asked if I could perhaps build a beehive in the garden. One hive turned into two and before I knew it, I had crowd sourced the funding to launch a beekeeping business and had local volunteers wanting to help.”
With help from the North Tyneside Business Factory, the enterprise programme from North Tyneside Council which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, Stephen has been able to access a range of advice and hands-on support to help realise Pure Buzzin’s grand ambitions for the future of the community interest business.
Stephen continued: “Thanks to the help from the Business Factory I’ve been able to work with a business advisor to structure the business in a way that focuses on providing a platform for the local community to interact with one another and learn new skills. We have people of all ages coming down to look after the hives and Pure Buzzin now has its own group of regular volunteers who are fully invested in making a success of our hives.
“We work together to build, create, repair and look after the honey bees we have here on site – creating our own range of honey-based candles and products to sell on to raise funds. We also run beekeeping experience events regularly during the spring and summer season to give people an insight into beekeeping and show anyone - old or young - what it means to look after bees in a community setting.
“As we’re a community interest company, we also run a school awareness programme. I work with local schools in North Tyneside to hold informative and educational drop-in sessions.
"I showcase the positive benefits of bees and pollinators on the local environment and bring along sealed observation hives for students to examine. It’s so important to me to use the honey bees as a platform to really discuss the positive environmental impact of pollinators like bees and how we must protect them at all costs.”
Stephen hopes to expand his beehives into new community areas but for now, the Meadow Well bees are waking up, ready for a new season.
