National Honey Bee Day

It has been almost 5 months since Andy Blackhall took up the post of Managing Director of WRc. He chose to welcome all our staff to the new era with a gift of a ‘beebomb’ - a selection of seeds specifically chosen to create a thriving habitat of honey bees. Ed McCann, one of our summer interns, caught up with him to celebrate National Honey Bee Day and to find out a little more behind his inspiration and motivation for the gift, and what the future holds for WRc.

Ed – What motivated you to select beebombs as your 'welcome to a new era of WRc' gift?

Andy – My first experience with honey bees was in my uncle Richard Cherry’s garden – with a name like that you would expect him to be a keen gardener, and he was. He had 4 hives and it was the highlight of my summer to go and help (!) harvest the product. This then resulted in enjoying some homemade wholemeal bread with lots of butter and ‘organic’ honey and what’s more he would make wax products which would then be sold on various gardener’s markets in the Rugeley area of Birmingham – it taught me the concept of enterprise and initiative. Growing up in a city environment, I really appreciated the opportunity that working on the land can bring, its hard work but the rewards are amazing.?

In recent conversation at the Botanical gardens in Wales, research into pollen and bees as biological indicators recording the changes in both farming and social activities emphasised why honey as an ancient symbol of purity is a constant reminder of how connected all of our daily lives are to the environment in which we live, and how that considering the Bee is a worthwhile exercise.

So I see the honey bee as an allegory for life in that sense. Hard work, care and commitment result in great outcomes, products and services that help communities thrive and provide opportunities for young people. Bringing it into the work context, to have the opportunity to encourage and influence colleagues at WRc and the wider RSK group, it is a privilege to be able to do that in a professional capacity. That’s it in a nutshell!

The company ‘Bee Bombs’?provided a really novel way of engaging the WRc team in the process and sharing the positive work we do with our families. We are hoping to see some results in the form of photos from employees quite soon!

Ed – What are your reflections on the first few months in post and what the future at WRc holds.

Andy – So what that spell in Uncle Richard’s garden taught me was this, there is no let-up – you can’t let the grass grow under your feet! The 18th of August was a milestone for WRc – 12 months under RSK Group ownership. For me, taking responsibility on the 1st April has been exhilarating, the change of ownership and breadth of capability in group has led to a more vibrant work place; the current challenges with Covid re-emergence has tested our resilience. We have wished a number of colleagues all the best in new ventures and welcomed so much new talent to our business that its been really encouraging, and what’s more the openness of the sector we work in and the needs of the water and waste management sector has meant that closer client engagement means that we are able to shape the future of WRc around what the sector needs from us. With the resources we have, we can contribute more to the needs of individuals in the UK and internationally as expressed in the UN Sustainable Development Goals – particularly SDG6.