Residents at Cadley Hill View care home in Swadlincote, operated by Ideal Carehomes, were excited to find that the beehives in the home’s garden had produced a new colony and queen bee, just in time for World Bee Day on 20th May.
The Cadley Hill View beehives were placed in the care home’s gardens last year as part of Swadlincote in Bloom, after the residents volunteered to keep them during a town committee meeting.
Earlier this month, when the residents were enjoying some sun in the garden, they noticed the new colony forming outside of the hives and notified local bee farmer, Dave McDowell.
Dave collected the new colony to be rehomed in a new hive in Smisby. The residents and visitors in the home were fascinated by the process as they watched Dave at work.
76-year-old resident, Rachael Woollett, said, ‘It was very informative and entertaining to watch. I’d never seen anything like that before, I couldn’t believe how many bees there were when Dave put his hands straight into the hive to pick them up!
David Godrich, the Home Manager at Cadley Hill View, commented,
‘We’re so happy that the bees have flourished since coming to live with us at Cadley Hill View. The honeybee has become a mascot for our home and the residents have loved learning about them, and about how we can save the bees!’
‘We’re now looking forward to making our gardens even more wildlife friendly as we prepare for Ideal Carehomes’ Gardens in Bloom competition.’
Gardens in Bloom is an annual competition run throughout all Ideal Carehomes to engage residents, teams and the local community in creating wonderful outside spaces for everyone to enjoy.
To find out how you can help Cadley Hill View with their Gardens in Bloom project, call 01283 907036 or email cadleyhill.view@idealcarehome.co.uk.
Cadley Hill View is a purpose-built luxury residential and dementia care home, located on Darklands Road in Swadlincote, and rated ‘GOOD’ by the CQC (Care Quality Commission). With 66 ensuite bedrooms, the home provides person-centred care and a full and varied activities programme. Cadley Hill View was recently named a Top 20 Care Home in the East Midlands, and rated 10 out of 10 on review based care home search engine, carehome.co.uk.