A hive of activity at Bottisham care home

Based in Cheshire, Julia has been a beekeeper for 14 years and has around 10 hives. She is a member of North Cheshire Beekeeping Association, she trains new beekeepers and is a registered swarm collector.

Residents joined Julia live from Cheshire to get an understanding of the daily life of bees inside her hives. Her talk took the residents on a whirlwind tour of the life and times of a honeybee and a hobby beekeeper. It covered topics such as communication in the beehive, the pecking order – who does what and even the darker side of the bee world with tales of regicide, sex and violence!

Julia says: “It was wonderful to be able to show the Barchester residents the life of a beekeeper here in Cheshire and to share a little bit about my hobby. I loved being able to introduce the residents to my wonderful, industrious bees and talk about how I care for them.”

Bex Vernon, Resident Experience Coordinator for Barchester Healthcare, commented: “We are excited to work with our amazing partners like Julia to bring a wide range of fantastic experiences into our homes for all to enjoy, particularly as this talk provided such a lovely opportunity to see different bees up close and learn all kinds of interesting facts about them.”

General Manager, Geanina Tinca, said: “Our residents find bees fascinating so they were delighted to be able to find out about the different bees and honeybee hives. We had so many questions, it was brilliant to be able to ask Julia all about how she cares for all of her hardworking bees.”

Hilton Park Care Home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. Hilton Park provides nursing care and residential care for 88 residents ranging from short-term respite care to longer stays.