Case studies
“Bentley’s Flying Bees have become a firm fixture in Crewe. This is all part of a wider sustainability programme at Bentley as a significant contributor to local biodiversity and adds to our ambition to lead sustainable luxury mobility in the future.”
Peter Bosch
Board Member for Manufacturing
Bentley Motors’ focus on energy and environmental management over the last 20 years has seen them become an exemplar in terms of its sustainability initiatives.
Having been certified as the UK’s first carbon neutral luxury automotive factory, together with owning the nation’s largest solar car port, Bentley Motors were seeking to enhance local biodiversity.
With grassland containing wild flowers and bordering the Cheshire countryside, the company had the perfect location for bees to thrive. Initially, Buckley’s Bees installed two hives with 120,000 British Apis Mellifera honeybees.
After just a few months, we were able to collect and extract the honeycomb from the hives to create an impressive 200-plus jars of honey, complete with labels created by Bentley’s interior designer – ready to share with colleagues and VIP visitors.
In 2020, we installed a further three beehives at Bentley’s site, taking the total number of bees to 300,000.
Yeo Valley Organic
Yeo Valley is Britain’s leading organic dairy brand, producing more than 2,000 tonnes of milk, yoghurt, butter and ice cream each week.
The company prides itself on looking after the wildlife on its farms, dedicating 25% of its 2,000 acres of land to giving homes to wild animals, such as mice, voles and skylarks. Hedges have also been planted to provide natural habitats, wildflower meadows are in place for insects, while extra-wide margins are around all of their fields to give barn owls the chance to hunt for food.
Yeo Valley realised that the reduction in wildflower meadows and increased urbanisation has contributed to there being just 270,000 active hives left in the UK, compared to 1 million in 1900.
Buckley’s Bees are working with Yeo Valley to install 10 honeybee hives across a number of Yeo Valley’s British organic dairy farms. With Yeo Valley’s forward-thinking approach to environmental sustainability, their farms will provide some of the best habitats for the bees.
Crewe Vagrants
Hockey Family
Crewe Vagrants Sports club was born from humble beginnings as a wandering cricket side playing all their games away from home. Today, the club has evolved into a heathy complex of sporting interests, drawing members and spectators from all over Cheshire and the adjoining counties.
Looking to give back to their club, the hockey club members crowd-funded their own hive of honeybees.
Whilst the playing grounds at the club are kept immaculately, manicured grass fields and astro turf are not environments that offer much to honeybees. Instead, the Hockey Family’s hive was placed in the heart of the Buckley’s Bees apiary, just a few minutes’ drive from the club itself and has since become one of the most productive colonies.