Worthing Honey Collective in collaboration with South Downs Leisure

In 2017 South Downs Leisure and local social enterprise We Are FoodPioneers CIC have teamed up to host Worthing’s first-ever community-supported beehives as part of the Worthing Honey Collective. Three hives were located at Worthing Leisure Centre to house native honeybees that are looked after by our volunteers under the watchful eye of our experienced beekeeper Tony. The first honey harvest was in 2019 once the hives had grown to full size and all income was used to promote this project within the local community.

DID YOU KNOW

In one worker bee’s lifetime she will produce on average just 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey?

DID YOU KNOW

One out of every three mouthfuls of our food depends on pollination taking place?

DID YOU KNOW

Our honey was made by our colonies of bees headed up by Queen bees Agatha, Houdini and Victoria

Honey bees at South Downs Leisure

Beehive project to turn worthing into a pollinator friendly town

Worthing Honey Collective is the first innovative project that makes Worthing the most bee-friendly coastal town in West Sussex

volunteering

The Worthing Honey Collective leads on many projects with local schools and businesses to teach them about beekeeping, pollination, and honey. At the moment we have the group of 20 volunteers from the surrounding areas involved in beekeeping and looking after 7 beehives located at Worthing Leisure Centre.

interested in becoming a volunteer?

Worthing Honey Collective

Did you know that one out of every three mouthfuls of our food depends on pollination taking place? Many people nowadays are aware of the threat of pollinator decline but don’t know how best to support pollinators in their daily lives.
 
In response to this, FoodPioneers created The Worthing Honey Collective, the first community-supported beehive and pollination programme, with the aim to increase vital pollinators through beehives across the rooftops and gardens of our town, and educate people of all ages on what they can do to provide forage and support for bees. We currently have seven hives across sites in Worthing which are supported and maintained by our team of volunteer beekeepers, with funding and support from our partners who include Rampion Wind Farm, South Downs Leisure, Worthing Community Chest, West Sussex County Council and the Town Centre Initiative.
 
We run the “Brood Chamber”, an informal monthly group meeting to learn more about bees, beekeeping and other pollinators to enable local residents to eventually join the Collective looking after the hives.
 
Our very own Worthing honey and a range of other honey related products will be available to buy from our online shop and other outlets, with profits going back into running the project.
 
 

Bee Keeping at South Downs Leisure

Bees at South Downs Leisure

SUPPORT THE BEES

We’re developing and co-creating with our Worthing Community and building an exciting programme for 2022. If you have ideas or activities you’d like to develop with us please get in touch. It’s a collective effort. We’re making and selling local hive products to support our programme of opportunities to get involved, which enable us to create even more pollinator-friendly environments and put Worthing on the map as a place where pollinators in community matter.
 
We seek to engage local schools, community groups, colleges, local businesses and residents in activities to further our knowledge and understanding of pollinating insects and the vital role they play in putting food on our plates.