A bee centre in Preston is to receive a donation of 200 beehives.

Construction firm Jackon has made the commitments to The Bee Centre in Samlesbury.

Based within the grounds of Samlesbury Hall the centre produces its own honey and acts as a safe haven for bee populations.

The beehives, which cost up to £250 each, are being given to the centre and will provider better insulation during the winter.

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Simon Cordingley from the Bee Centre said: “Our work is centred around the important environmental story of pollination carried out by bees. It’s about generating awareness in schools, colleges and local communities about the importance of our native bees and the threats to them. The localised bee populations that we breed are based on the native black bee.

“We have used polystyrene beehives in the past, so we are familiar with the advantages, compared to timber alternatives. To receive 200 of these from JACKON, of a proven type which they already sell in Scandinavia, is a massive and welcome boost for our work.

“This is a big project. It will enable us to engage with more than 100 schools, carry out training and reach thousands of people over the coming year. We find that schools get very enthusiastic about bees, and the interest goes far beyond the biology class. They can weave the bee theme throughout their other subjects. We have even had schools dedicate whole weeks of assemblies to bees – the subject really catches their imagination.”

Jackon UK Ltd managing director Colin Higham said: “Single use plastics are getting a bad press at the moment – and our misuse of them is certainly causing a massive environmental problem.

“However there is a positive side too. Our products last a lifetime, have very impressive insulation properties when used in construction projects and cause minimal environmental impact, if manufacturing processes are carried out properly.”

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