Agency UK – bringing bees back to Beehive Yard

What AgencyUK did

AgencyUK and worked with local beekeeper Martin to establish two hives for native honey bees at their offices on Bath’s riverside.

Co-founder Amy Stobie said:

“We have introduced bees to improve the pollen corridor throughout the river side in central Bath from Walcot Street along through the city. We are very proud to have re-introduced bees to Beehive Yard. We know that the yard was formed somewhere towards the end of the 17th century and sat alongside an old orchard forming part of the orchards and local people’s smallholdings in the area. The yard was very urbanised during the 17th century housing a foundry, slaughterhouse, smithy and a large brewery as well as a tram company.

“Over the course of the last 200 years the land has seen a lot of heavy metals (foundry) and general pollution from the trams, the roads, the coal used in the foundry etc and it is a very positive feeling to know that post-industrialisation and being still within an urban environment we can start to try to redress the balance and improve the biodiversity within the area”.

The impact for AgencyUK

AgencyUK is planning to use the hives to educate their 32 employees on bee and hive management, sharing knowledge about biodiversity and pollinators and empowering them to share information with friends and family.

They are keen to share their learning with other businesses and have plans to work with local charities such as The Leonard Cheshire Trust, Representation Matters and SEND schools as well as The Cabot Learning Academy to create a work experience programme.

The agency has a Sustainability Champion, Chloe Smith, who helps drive initiatives forward within the business. AgencyUK is raising the profile of their work with stakeholders and customers through their quarterly newsletter and hosting a special event for friends in summer 2022. Tey are seeking status as a B Corp and plan to expand similar initiatives in the future.

The impact for pollinators

The number of beehives in the UK has fallen by 75% in the last 100 years.

The two new hives at Beehive Yard could support over 100,000 bees and pollinate over 8,000m2 of fruit trees.

Find out more

The West of England Combined Authority have brought together Pollinator Resources for information on how your organisation can support bees and pollinators.