To bee or not to bee

That is the question. At today's evening task, we contemplated the life and death of a hedge. Bee Coop from Northfield Allotments invited us to clear space around a tree to build a dead hedge - Frankenstein's monster among the hedges. The structure erected from lifeless branches was to give a new life - to an entire metropolis of insects!

One of our GoodGym teammates, Clare, was an insider at the Bee Coop and welcomed us to the plot and introduced us to the other beekeepers: Chloe and Kathy, the boss of tonight's task. At the back of the plot, we noticed the beehives behind the green netting.

Safety briefing ⛑️

"The bees should be calm at this time of the day, but be careful.
Do not lean on the green netting.
Do not touch the green netting.
Do not throw anything behind the green netting" - Clare

"Do not look at the green netting.
Do not speak about the green netting" - Kathy

Despite the fight club rules, some of us brought sharp blades to a fistfight - we could see you with that saw, Steph! 😱 Others sneaked in loppers and secateurs. With so many people in a small space with pointy branches, twigs and tools, we managed to - thanks to our excellent health and safety standards - not hurt anyone, except for the branches, which Ijo, Sevan, Madhan and Steph cut down into smaller pieces.

After Kash removed the nettles and weeds from the hedge construction site, Claire, Clare and Divya erected poles to support the structure, and then started laying foundations using thick logs. On top of those landed big branches, then smaller branches, followed by the tiniest twigs. In less than an hour, the hedge was ready to serve as home to the new generation of bugs to improve biodiversity in the area.

Luckily, no one got stung today - at least not by the bees! Claire and Kash couldn't say the same about nettles. We didn't taste any honey this evening, but Clare and Claire prepared another sweet surprise - birthday cupcakes for Madhan! Happy birthday! 🎂

We finished the task with a tour around the allotment, featuring attractions such as:

• Anderson shelter
• Claire's pro plot
• Fruit garden and Madhan's adapted plot

A big thank you to Madhan and Clare for organising today's task! 🤩

Next week we are helping Walpole Park tackle the bramble issue - sign up now! Oh, and look out for the social next week after the task 👀 it's coming soon!

Disclaimer

No Ealing bees have been smuggled to Hammersmith on a bike.

...Or were they?