Compost Bin Lodgers

It’s not only worms to be found in compost bins: this one in a back garden in St Catherine’s Crescent had been occupied by a swarm of honey bees!

compostbin

The bees had taken up residence and were already in the business of furnishing their new home with wax honeycomb:

beesincompostbin

A team of volunteer beekeepers arrived to repatriate them to a more amenable environment:

collectingswarm

The bees were gently moved out of the hive using a dustpan and brush (traditional beekeeping equipment!)…

scrapingwax

… and into a straw skep ready for transporting to their new home:

beesinskep

Two of the beekeepers in the picture were beginners and this was their first experience of collecting a swarm. After this unusual initiation into the craft of beekeeping the pair took the bees away in the skep and introduced them into a nice comfortable beehive sited on their nearby farm.

Happy endings all round!

Pictures by Gillian Gunner.


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South West In Bloom
This year the town was unable to compete in the South West in Bloom competition, after reaching and maintaining the highest standard of excellence winning four GOLD awards over four consecutive years; bringing to the town the highest accolade it can gain. There is much hope that next year the town can rejoin the competition and go one step further and reach the national UK Britain in Bloom finals.
Market Town Award
action for market towns award
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