Volunteer Profile: Gordon our resident Beekeeper!

Gordon is an avid beekeeper. His interest in the vocation was sparked after reading an article about bees and their benefit to the environment. He started reading up on the subject and joined a bee club about five years ago to get additional help. Since then, he’s hand-crafted and tended to a number of hives and proved himself to be a very skilled and resourceful beekeeper. The Dig It! gardens provide Gordon with space to enhance his skills.

Gordon first came in contact with the gardens when he was called out to attend a bee swarm in the area, as part of his job at the time. The Dig It! gardens came up in conversation with the woman who requested his help, and Gordon decided to pay the gardens a visit himself. He was instantly charmed by the vast amount of plants in the garden (perfect conditions for bees) and decided to enquire about contributing.

This was back in early 2015, and Gordon has been coming in twice a week since. He has set up a working beehive in the garden and tends to it regularly, distinguishing himself as the resident beekeeper. His efforts are much appreciated by the volunteers and other garden visitors – the bees help to keep the garden thriving, as well as providing delicious honey for the volunteers to eat. And it’s a good deal for the bees too! “It’s a fantastic place for the bees as they’ve got so many plants to eat from,” says Gordon. “It’s encouraged more plants and more butterflies in the garden, making it a more appealing place.”

Gordon has also recently been helping out with the manual labour side of the garden’s redevelopment, proving himself to be a multi-talented and valuable member of the Dig It! team. Thank you Gordon for everything you do!

If you would like to learn more about becoming a Dig It! volunteer, come on down and visit us or get in touch!