Buzz-ness as usual: blood, bees and biodoversity

Michael Cahillane, Research Scientist, Welsh Blood Service

A brief overview of the ongoing beehive project at the Welsh Blood Service’s Talbot Green Site in South Wales.

Most individuals would expect a blood service to employ scientists, healthcare support workers, transport staff, administration staff etc. as a given, but in September 2022 the Welsh Blood Service (WBS) decided to integrate another staff demographic within its operational workforce – honeybees!

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In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was recognised that an increasing number of adults have turned to nature to combat the stresses of both everyday life and work life, with ~46% of adults now spending additional time outdoors post-pandemic as a way of counteracting the negative emotional impacts felt by social distancing measures, isolation and fluctuating mental health. Beekeeping represented a novel opportunity to improve staff wellbeing and mindfulness through a quiet, focused and meditative activity whilst also engaging in collaborative teamwork. Research into the implications of nature-led, professional activities have demonstrated improved individual mental health, reductions in staff absence and improved workplace productivity.

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The WBS Talbot Green site (South Wales) is also fortunate enough to be surrounded by hills and woodlands whilst benefitting from its own area of vacant green land – a perfect location for the new tenants. Wales proudly embraces its green landscapes, which are maintained through strong conservation initiatives and responsible land management practices. Amendments in devolved legislation, emphasised through the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, now require public bodies to consider social, economic, environmental and cultural goals in decision making processes. Long-term sustainability measures must positively contribute to the well-being of present and future generations through the policies and actions that are subsequently embedded and practiced within individual organisations. Welsh public bodies are also required to undertake biodiversity assessments per the Environment (Wales) Act (2016), with associated action plans aspiring to both manage and enhance local biodiversity.

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With both person-centred and legislative factors considered, a pilot project affectionately titled WBeeS was thoroughly risk-assessed and approved for implementation, with our first beehive successfully installed in collaboration with our supplying partner ‘Bee 1.’ Interest for voluntary beekeeper positions amongst the WBS workforce was high, with 12 lucky individuals randomly selected from across the organisation. The staff beekeepers manage the hive on a paired-rota basis, dedicating roughly one hour per week during the spring and summer months and one hour per month during the autumn/winter months, with this time absorbed as part of natural working hours upon agreement with the WBS senior leadership team. Staff were initially trained with basic beekeeping knowledge and skills by experienced Bee 1 representatives and have relished the opportunity to be involved in the project. “Becoming a volunteer beekeeper at WBS has allowed me to learn about these fascinating insects and the vital need to safeguard and promote biodiversity. Keeping bees on site is a good way to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining wildlife-friendly habitats that benefit the local fauna and flora, as well as our bees.” remarked Christine Saunders (Development Analyst and Staff Beekeeper.)

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Playing pivotal roles in maintaining ecological balance and promoting biodiversity, the preservation and protection of honeybees is not only an environmental imperative but also crucial for sustaining global food production and safeguarding biodiversity, making them indispensable to the environment. As pollinators, bees facilitate the reproduction of flowering plants through pollen transfer, which is fundamental for the production of fruits, vegetables, and nuts, ensuring a diverse and plentiful food supply (directly valued between ￡400m-￡700m in the UK) for both humans and wildlife. Global agricultural systems are also heavily reliant on bees with many crops dependant on pollination events to produce successful yields. Unfortunately, all bee species are highly susceptible to increasing threats including habitat loss, pesticide exposure and climate change, leading to overall declines in their populations.

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WBeeS is also endorsing the Welsh Government’s Healthy Bees Plan 2030 through

enhancement of wet skills, production capability and beekeeper capacity whilst also expanding knowledge exchange opportunities. Our beekeepers regularly accumulate information from their duties and contribute to the ‘BeeBase’ database to further improve the quality of available apine information, monitor potential disease outbreaks and communicate current risks, subsequently creating a more effective management of bee biosecurity.

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Our honeybee experience has endured a dramatic 18 months. Despite surviving their first Welsh winter (which is no easy feat itself), the colony actually left the hive in May 2023, through an innate and common process called ‘swarming,’ where the colony looks to reproduce and thus requires more space. The queen bee Lilibet left the hive, taking around 50-60% of the colony with her, looking for alternative accommodation to inhabit. The remaining bees stayed behind, still producing some honey, but were unlikely to survive a second winter without a queen. New eggs containing a queen bee had already been laid, meaning the race was on for the first to hatch and claim her throne. However, she disappeared between visits, with her fate unknown and the remaining unhatched monarch eggs destroyed. Not the ideal start, but all was not lost, as a new queen (Kate) and her colony were introduced in August 2023 and thankfully fully integrated with the remaining colony. The renewed colony has been since maintained through nectar feeding and are currently inactive within the hive, whilst waiting out the long winter months. Around Spring 2024, the honeybees should become active once again, further developing their colony and continuing their honey production, whilst we just hope they decide not to swarm again!

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The honey harvesting process is being scoped, with its sale likely to benefit the project itself or our NHS trusts charities. An all-Wales competition to design the logo for our anticipated honey jars was held between staff, donors and anyone else who wanted to participate, receiving a tremendous response. From a shortlist of 6 options selected by the bee project team, WBS staff were asked to select their favourite design which happened to be from a staff member’s daughter who was extremely excited to have won and is very much looking forward to seeing her design come to fruition! There is also potential to manufacture wax melts from the excess honeycomb collected during hive maintenance.

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At first thought, blood transfusion and beekeeping appear to be polar opposite subjects, but upon deeper reflection there is an evident synergy when considering their roles in life-sustaining processes, with voluntary donors providing blood donations needed for transfusion support and honeybees, contributing to the reproduction of flora and fauna that help sustain various ecosystems. Blood components and honey are both considered a critical respective resource; blood helping to improve life quality to dependant recipients through replacement of cellular components, oxygen transport and haemostatic restoration, whilst honey serves as a primary food source for bee colonies, providing the energy needed for individual survival during periods of unfavourable conditions.

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Before considering the products that blood donors and bees bequeath, one should remember that they engage in true acts of altruism by aiming to help those in need without direct personal benefits; donors are exceptionally unlikely to be transfused their own donated blood components and bees tirelessly collect nectar for honey production, even if they don’t benefit from the stored product itself. Without the community support that both blood donors and bees demonstrate, the wellbeing of human populations, organisms and ecosystems alike would undoubtedly suffer. It is? perhaps too easy to undervalue the continual availability of blood components but also how bees promote biodiversity and thriving ecosystems, which ultimately benefits us as humans, and other species that rely on the availability of diverse plant life for survival.

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Staff directly involved in the program have been very vocal about the positive impact beekeeping activities has had, with general feedback stating that ‘it’s pushed us out of our comfort zones’ but is ‘completely worthwhile and fun’ whilst providing ‘interesting and educational experiences’, and perhaps most meaningfully, ‘a calming and relaxing activity which gives a welcome respite from our busy working environments, whilst simultaneously having an beneficial effect on our local biodiversity and nature in general.’

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Ongoing training will be continually provided to ensure our urban beekeeping is performed to the required standards. A project review is due later in 2024 to assess the initial honeybee colony accomplishments, staff benefits and overall pilot success and decide whether the project could implement further beehives across additional NHS Trust locations. Such opportunities would only enhance our local biodiversity commitment (with bug hotels and ‘no mow’ assurances also implemented) helping us to fulfil continual improvement requirements of our ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System certification. The project also houses the potential for community outreach programmes to visit the WBS site and promote not only the importance of bee survival, but of general conservation and biodiversity initiatives.

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WBeeS has so far demonstrated how green activities are clearly valuable to the well BEEing of individuals but also how these activities can HIVE profound impacts on the wider environment, and we’re under no doubt that the ongoing development of our apine workforce will naturally integrate beekeeping (and other biodiversity projects) at WBS as just BUZZness as usual.