‘The Bee Centre’ is a multi-award-winning, centre of excellence for bee-related education and training.

Based near Preston, the organisation works with customers from across the world to raise awareness of bees and their importance to our environment.
They also run beekeeping courses for hobbyists and professionals alike; incorporating their unique approach to ethical and sustainable beekeeping. The organisation currently manages over 150 colonies of honeybees across the North West and North Wales.

Public interest in bees (and other pollinators) has grown considerably in recent years. At their visitor centre in Samlesbury, ‘The Bee Centre’ delivers education and awareness to the public throughout the year.

This ranges from live talks and demonstrations to their award-winning ‘Bee Experience’. This popular event provides a 90-minute immersion onto the world of the honeybee, for those who are brave enough to put on a beekeeping suit and accompany the beekeeper into the apiary. There is also a huge, indoor, glass hive where visitors can get up-close-and-personal with the bees in complete comfort and safety. Entry and parking are free. For those interested in learning to keep honeybees successfully, ‘The Bee Centre’ runs beekeeping courses ranging from beginner to advanced levels. Their practical, hands-on courses are well respected, professionally run and receive excellent feedback. They are usually delivered at their purpose-built training apiary which is believed to house the most diverse collection of working hives in the UK. ‘The Bee Centre’ is also the regional training hub for beekeepers and bee farmers wishing to gain professional qualifications through the Bee Farmers’ Association.

‘The Bee Centre’ works with schools to help educate children about bees (and other pollinators), habitats, biodiversity and the environment as part of their curriculum.

They have an extensive programme of support which includes both school trips to their facility in Samlesbury as well as visits to schools, to deliver talks and activities. The latter is a popular option as it reduces the transport costs associated with school trips. They even have a special, child-proof, portable beehive which keeps the bees safe and securely contained, whilst remaining visible through the shatterproof glass walls.

For schools that have space available, ‘The Bee Centre’ can work with them to establish hives on site and to set up school beekeeping clubs. The organisation has partnered with Jackon UK, a leading manufacturer of insulation materials to the construction industry. With Jackon’s support, ‘The Bee Centre’ can offer warm, lightweight, polystyrene hives as part of a heavily subsidised package to get schools started.

They can also provide beekeeping suits, equipment and The Bee Centre’s very own, locally bred, Lancashire bees. These girls are of a good temperament and ‘well behaved’, making them ideal for keeping in schools. They are also suited to our northern climate and overwinter well. More information about bees, beekeeping, planting for bees and much more can be found at www.TheBeeCentre.org.