Making a bee-line for sustainability in Shotton

Steelworkers at Tata Steel in Shotton are preparing to welcome a new colony of bees housed in hives on one of the site’s many green spaces as part of the company’s commitment to biodiversity.

The site is already famous for hosting nesting sites for one of the UK’s most important visiting sea birds, the common tern—in fact it used to be the logo for the site.

Works Manager Bill Duckworth said,

“We have recognised that true sustainability requires a holistic approach, so our own commitment includes reducing our site’s carbon footprint, developing and producing products and services that support sustainable construction, protecting and expanding the biodiversity that co-exists on our site, and maximising our material efficiency and achieving zero onsite waste.”

“We are super excited about this new project coming to Shotton, which is already known within Tata Steel as our steel works with most green spaces. We hope the bees will be very happy here – we might even get some Shotton honey from them!”

Simon Fielding who is  part of the Welsh Beekeepers’ Association and is also a member and tutor at the Flintshire & District Bee Keeping Association, recently visited the site and hosted some introductory sessions on bees and bee-keeping. He said:

“Bees are an excellent indicator of an area's blooming biodiversity and they help pollinate flowers and trees which in turn provide food and shelter for other wildlife.”

Pictured - One of the three bee hives now in place on Tata Steel’s Shotton steelwork site in Deeside.