A look at DEFRA’s Healthy Bees Plan 2030

Earlier this month, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs launched the Healthy Bees Plan 2030. The plan identifies the ongoing risks to honeybee health and sets out a strategy that aims to support beekeepers and bee farmers in responding effectively to the challenges faced, particularly those linked to climate change, urbanisation and disease.

Having developed and launched our Beehives for Schools project back in 2018 - a unique, hands-on programme designed to raise awareness of the decline of the honeybee and encourage pupils to become passionate advocates for their health and survival - we were naturally curious to find out what plans had been put in motion to ensure a brighter future for honeybees in the UK.

The plan identifies the following four outcomes:

1. Effective biosecurity and good standards of husbandry, to minimise pest and disease risks and so improve the sustainability of honey bee populations;

2. Enhanced skills and production capability/capacity of beekeepers and bee farmers;

3. Sound science and evidence underpinning the actions taken to support bee health;

4. Increased opportunities for knowledge exchange and partnership working on honey bee health and wider pollinator needs.

We are really pleased to see the importance that the plan places on education within the beekeeping world, with a particular focus on mentoring and practical support. Through our own first hand experience, we understand how valuable a reliable, friendly and knowledgeable source of information and guidance is for the development of confident and skilled beekeepers. In addition to their initial training, we are keen to ensure that staff at our beekeeping schools receive ongoing support to enable them to make the most of this opportunity for themselves and their pupils. As well as running fantastic sessions on honey extraction and swarming earlier in the year, our head beekeeper, Yvonne Kilvington, also writes articles for our schools, which are shared in our monthly newsletters. These include tips and tricks for each month and have been a really useful resource as schools become familiar with the beekeeping year.  

We will certainly be keeping an eye out for updates from DEFRA and partner organisations such as the British Beekeepers’ Society and look forward to continuing our support for beekeeping in schools against the backdrop of these new plans and policies. You can download and read the Healthy Bee Plan 2030 here.