Scillonian Bee Project
Recently, Some of the Pollenize team spent 4 days on the beautiful Isles of Scilly completing our latest install of research beehives at Salakee Farm on St Marys Island. This is part of plans to expand our research into different parts of the UK. Pollenize Co-Founder Owen Finnie gives a magical insight into the successful visit…
Our trip was brief, but extremely fruitful in what we achieved. This well scheduled itinerary was carefully curated by Jilly Halliday. Jilly is one of a kind, her energy and passion for connecting people is a real asset. Jilly facilitated us in being able to collect bee samples from different beekeepers across the islands.
Our aim was to collect drone samples from across all five islands, as well as some worker bees to be genetically tested for their DNA. This will help build a picture of the species of honey bees on the islands in continuation and conjunction with the B4 Project’s work.
St Marys - Salakee Farm - Kylie, Dave, Artie, Solomon & Benson
We began ours tay at Salakee Farm with Kylie and Dave, who are trailblazers for how the Scillionians on St Marys can be more self-sufficient with growing their own produce. Their farm is incredible, and an inspiring place to be. We had fresh milk every morning, and they made us feel very welcome as soon as we arrived. This was our base for the duration of our stay, and we enjoyed many conversations about the important part we all have to play in looking after our environment.
Installing the research hive at Salakee was great, but Will (our intern) managed to suffer a few stings, (10 in total) to the ankles which saw him hobble for a couple of days, a pain we all know too well. There was a huge sigh of relief when we plugged the camera in and heard the ‘jingle’ the camera makes when connected successfully to the internet. This meant all of the hard work and preparation we had made at home prior to our visit had paid off. The next step is to get the camera focused on its position, and soon it will be able to provide a stream for viewing!
St Martins - Ben and Caroline - Campsite
Ben is a great guy, he is full of knowledge about St Martins, and well invested in creating a great experience for people who visit the campsite, which is run by himself and his wife Caroline. It's always very refreshing being around people who want to share their learning in beekeeping, this is how we’ve learned all of our practical beekeeping knowledge at Pollenize. If Ben didn’t have enough work, he is also a first responder for Fire and Ambulance services, armed with pagers either side of his belt. Dave at Salakee is also a first responder for Fire, these Scillionians are super humans!
St Agnes - Mike Hicks - Westward Farm Gin
Mike's Gin is incredible, the Rose Geranium provides a unique and special taste profile, which I am sure the bees enjoy too. What has become clear from our trip is that beekeeping is just one aspect of the lives of people we visited across the islands. The diversity of the business activities and resourcefulness of each person is just part of being an islander. Do check out out Westward Farm Gin if you like a decent tipple!
Bryher - Ruth and Graham - Scilly Chilli
Similar to Kylie and Dave on St Marys, Ruth and Graham have a small mixed farm called Scilly Chilli and have been inspired by the nature friendly, regenerative agriculture movement to create a farm that nourishes and sustains its wildlife as well as being productive. Their produce ranges from rearing their own cattle for beef, and all the way to experimenting with chilli jams. Their skills have clearly trickled down to their daughter, Martha, who created the lovely Scillonian Bee project logo.
Tresco - Jilly Halliday and Andrew Lawson - Tresco Abbey Gardens / Tresco Bees
As if Jilly hadn’t already done enough, she also kindly let us take samples from her hives on Tresco, as well as treating us to guided tour, and many introductions to people who keep Tresco moving day to day. On our last day Jilly treated us to a delicious lunch in the ruins restaurant, which was idyllic and memorable.
Andrew the Head Gardener at Tresco, is a fountain of knowledge about the carefully and beautifully curated Tresco Abbey Gardens. Andrew very generously gave us a guided tour around the gardens, we felt like VIP’s, and we were able to get a special view of gardens which only you could get if you knew Andrew, for this we are very grateful for. I can imagine the diversity of forage for the honey bees on this island must make for some interesting tasting honey.
Five Islands Academy
At Pollenize our mission has always, and will continue to be about educating about the importance of pollinators. Being invited to go into schools and talk about our work with children is a great opportunity, they’re usually the ones who end up teaching us. The children at Five Islands Academy listened very diligently to our presentation, and engaged with our activities. We can’t wait to see how their mini meadow at school comes along with the seed packets we gave to them. Fingers crossed we can visit the secondary school children on our next trip, and inspire them to consider job prospects in looking after the environment.
