The following article was written in collaboration with Take a Part Plymouth for the 'Coxside Echoes’, a community magazine developed with and for residents of Coxside. Read the latest edition ‘looking back, looking forward’ here

“These bees are surely the most extreme bees in Plymouth. They didn't seem all that bothered when we let them loose after hoisting them up through a tight squeeze with a rope. I’m sure these ladies will thrive on the aquarium roof!”

These are the words of our valued project supporter Jacob McTighe. He and our team spent a sunny morning in October successfully transporting one of our honey bee colonies to their new home upon the roof of the National Marine Aquarium (NMA) in Coxside.

For those who haven’t heard of us, Pollenize is a pollinator conservation organisation and beekeeping group which uses the power of science and community to fight back against pollinator decline. In Plymouth, we are creating a network of community-funded research beehives (also called apiaries) stocked with European Dark Honey Bees at popular cultural landmarks. This is to extend the local populations of our threatened native honey bee (Apis Mellifera Mellifera) and conduct scientific research that will help us make Plymouth a healthier environment for all pollinators.

The morning spent at the NMA required expert planning to ensure the process was as smooth as possible for all involved. This included the important but slightly less exciting tasks of site preparations, risk assessments, gaining working at height certificates and the provision of safety equipment.

Back to the big move! At 8pm the previous evening, we used a board and gaffer tape to block off any entrances to the hive thus safely locking the colony inside ready for collection the next morning. It was important that we did this at sundown, when the weather was cooler, to make certain all the bees had returned from flying for the day. At sunrise, we gently loaded the hive into our vehicle and made the short journey from our Devonport Column Apiary towards the NMA.

After navigating through the building, the next stage involved some steady manoeuvring of the hive as it made its way up a ladder through a small hatch, with one person centring the rope. Once the hive was secure on the roof, it was just a matter of giving the bees plenty of time to settle before opening the hive entrances and allowing them to re-orientate to this stunning new location. We gave ourselves a pat on the back whilst taking in the spectacular views and were fortunate to have the warm autumn sun shining down upon us - the whole experience was nothing less than magical.

The NMA is the largest aquarium in the UK and is run by the Ocean Conservation Trust, a charity committed to connecting people with the Ocean. Bees, seas, or trees - these guys share our dedication to scientific planet conservation and we’re grateful to them for allowing us to make such positive use out of their otherwise dead space!

At Pollenize, we strategically select the cultural hotspots where we keep our bees, not just for their ideal locations but because it helps us to amplify our message about pollinator conservation. Some of the other Plymouth apiary network sites include City College Plymouth , The Box Museum, and The Royal William Yard. We believe that joining forces with such iconic institutions for the greater good of our beautiful planet demonstrates the importance of collaboration in our city.

By bringing honey bees into an urban environment we’re hoping to improve pollination in the area and allow people to understand why conservation is so very important – not only the conservation of honey bees but all wild pollinators too. The scientific research we will be able to extract through passive pollen collection and hive cameras at the NMA beehive will not only teach us about insect behaviour, local plant diversity and the health of our local environment but what we can do as a community to improve it.

As the weather gets colder our Aquarium bees will overwinter as a colony clustered together, using their bodies to generate heat. We’ll be back to check on them in the spring at the beginning of the beekeeping season, when they will begin to emerge in search of forage!