East Kilbride shopping centre has become a hive of activity with the launch of a special exhibition highlighting the importance of bees to the town’s environment.
Creating a Buzz has been organised in partnership with Scottish sustainable honey company, Webster Honey, who have been managing EK, East Kilbride's four honeybee colonies on the roof of Centre West over the past year.
Opening on Thursday, September 1 and running for the full month, the display will include a host of honeybee facts and figures, giant bees, and mammoth flowers - ideal for a quick selfie.
There will also be a full size empty hive that will allow visitors to get an up close view of where the bees live, plus a special workshop on Saturday, September 17, complete with a live observation hive.
Honeybees are nature’s best pollinators, flying for up to five miles to pollinate the trees, plants and flowers that turn East Kilbride’s carbon dioxide into oxygen.
This means the centre bees could be bringing environmental benefits to a host of EK locations including the James Hamilton Heritage Park and Calderglen Country Park, not to mention gardens across the town.
Visitors to the exhibition will also learn how to give these incredible insects a much needed boost, with a guide to the best ‘bee friendly’ flowers to plant in the garden.
“What a great idea to hold this exhibition,” said Daniel Webster, managing director of Webster Honey.
“We were delighted when EK, East Kilbride said they would host some of our hives on their roof, and it’s fantastic that they are now helping more people learn about the importance of bees to the environment through this exhibition.
"The hives and the new display are a tremendous education resource for the EK community.”
EK, East Kilbride’s bee colonies are part of a centre wide environmental programme that features a range of initiatives, including a major recycling drive.
Jean Armstrong, from EK, East Kilbride said: “Our bee colonies are thriving on the roof of Centre West, with recent visits showing they have produced a very healthy batch of honey over the summer.
“The hives are located high up on the roof of the centre and shoppers are very unlikely to see the bees as they will be out foraging and pollinating during the day.
"With that in mind, we thought visitors would welcome the opportunity to learn a little bit more about our honeybees, and also see a few up close in Webster’s observation hive.”
Creating a Buzz is located in Centre West (next to H&M) and entry is free.
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