Darlington beekeepers powering up to welcome more local school visits

Dozens of children from schools across Darlington will bee finding out more about one of the world’s most important creatures thanks to a group of local experts and funding from a renewable energy firm.

The Darlington Beekeepers Association is using a £7,000 grant from the community benefits fund linked to OnPath Energy’s Moor House Wind Farm near Barmpton to help pay for the installation of a solar power battery system at its main apiary, which is next to the old bowling green in the Denes in the centre of the town.

The new power supply will allow the Association to provide the facilities required in its welfare unit to invite school groups from outside the immediate area to visit the apiary, with part of the grant being used to help make the visits possible by covering the schools’ transport costs.

Arrangements are already being made with a number of schools in the communities around the wind farm to visit the apiary in spring next year, when the bees will be coming out of hibernation.

It’s the second time that the Association has received funding from the Moor House Wind Farm community fund, with a £1,971 grant given in 2021 helping it to establish more than a dozen new hives on the site of the wind farm itself.

Founded in 2012, Darlington Beekeepers Association draws most of its 70-plus members from around the local area, with each member undertaking a two-season British Beekeeping Association training course under the guidance of a Master Beekeeper to ensure they have all the knowledge required to care of the hives, including extensive supervised practical sessions.

Alongside enjoying their hobby, the Association also works to try to inform the wider public about the important role that honey bees and other pollinators play in our natural environment and what can be done to protect and encourage local populations of pollinators.

Richard Bond, committee member at the Darlington Beekeepers Association, says: “Education is a central part of the work that our members undertake and we’ve welcomed many groups from nearby schools in the past who’ve been fascinated by the lives and behaviours of our bees.

“We’ve been looking at ways to extend this work, but without a power supply in our welfare unit, we wouldn’t be able to offer the bathroom and refreshment facilities that we need to welcome school groups from further afield.

Installing the solar power battery system solves this problem in an environmentally-suitable way and we’re now speaking to several schools around the Moor House Wind Farm about paying us a visit in the spring.”

Richard Bond – Committee member at the Darlington Beekeepers Association

“With their budgets always being under pressure, being able to also help these schools cover their transport costs is an added benefit for everyone.

“Previous support from the Moor House Wind Farm Community Fund has helped us develop our educational work and we’re very grateful for their assistance with furthering our drive to raise awareness of the importance of these amazing creatures even more widely.”

Tom Chaplin, partnership and community manager at OnPath Energy, adds: “The Darlington Beekeepers Association makes a very important contribution to the well-being of the local environment and to biodiversity across Darlington and beyond.

“We’re very pleased to be extending our support for their work and to be helping them share their knowledge with even more young people across the area.”

Environmental and community projects in the vicinity of the Moor House Wind Farm which are interested in applying to its community fund should first contact the fund manager via apply@onpathcommunityfund.co.uk or on 0191 378 6342 to confirm that their group or project is eligible.