Honeybee populations have plummeted, due to climate change and poor pesticide management among a number of other factors, resulting in numbers being halved in just a few decades – but there are people out there who have made it their mission to reverse this trend.
Plan Bee is a company based in Lanarkshire, which is committed to addressing the honeybee problem one hive at a time. It offers the option to hire hives that can be placed on your land to help pollinate crops, surrounding plant life and forestry; or hire them as part of an eco-sustainability project for any individual or company. 
Warren Bader, founder of Plan Bee, said: “We provide a full service for both individuals and for companies. We provide the hives and the bees, we maintain them using professional beekeepers and our clients can be involved as little or as much as they wish.”
Plan Bee rents beehives for a pre-planned period of time, for example, seasonally during crop pollination, after which then they can be removed if desired. Currently, Plan Bee works with some huge UK-based companies, such as Kelloggs and Loreal, yet they also provide hives to hotel groups, golf clubs, museums, and schools. 
It seems to be an excellent addition and fulfilment of the environmental credentials that companies both seek and in many situations require.
Plan Bee have an admirable record of taking hives into schools to introduce children to the concept of bees and honey, with schools all over the UK boasting hives rented from Plan Bee. They also work with community groups. 
Warren added: “We can install sponsored beehives in your communities and train local people the skills to manage hives, and to establish their own rural business, providing worthwhile and fulfilling local employment opportunities.”
Further applications include country estates that have realised the benefits of having bee hives on their land; it helps with the pollination of heather, which in turn provides excellent ground cover for the wildlife and the pheasants. 
Warren added: “We can also brand the hives with your company name, and brand the honey that is produced. If you have a farm shop, this is a perfect way to produce your own honey with minimum effort.”
He added: “The Scottish Government is becoming hugely aware of the issues facing honeybees, with calls in the Scottish Parliament to do more to support this endangered creature. 
“Honeybees are responsible for pollinating a third of the food we eat, and for ensuring that Scotland’s unique environment continues to flourish. By working with Plan Bee and adopting beehives, you are promoting the pollination of your woodlands and forestry.”
Beyond commercial uses if you simply want a colony in your garden, or allotment, a Plan Bee member will come and assess the area, then set up and manage the hive. All you need to do is watch and hear the bees, and, of course, enjoy the honey.
Warren also trains potential beekeepers, as he says that is one of the main problems. Bee farmer numbers are dwindling. 
On the continent, bee farmers are seen as legitimate food producers, however, here in the UK, they are seen as hobby famers. There are no grants, or start up resources, and the initial costs to start up a bee farm are prohibitive. 


Honey
Plan Bee’s aim is to protect and preserve dwindling honeybee numbers, and that means that they’ve developed lots of uses for the honey and beeswax that comes out of the partnership beehives.
Hives mean honey, and Warren has many honey-based items that he produces and sells from their base in Wishaw. 
He explained: “In adopting Plan Bee beehives, you will also receive your share of the premium Scottish honey from your hives. With Plan Bee’s share we produce our ‘Origin’ honey brand. 
“The honey produced is a ‘Great Taste’ award-winning product. Our heather honey won two gold stars, and was produced from bees foraging the heather hillsides of Glencoe and at Blackford in Perthshire.”
A unique product that is being produced is called Honeygar, which is marketed as a salad dressing, but is also a health tonic combined. It combines aged apple cider vinegar with their high quality honey. It has found acclaim from leading chefs and established health food chains. 


Farmers
For arable farmers the potential of higher yields is a tempting prospect. An experiment carried out at Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, found that broad bean plants pollinated by bees produced more seeds per pod, more seeds per plant, heavier seeds and a greater weight of seeds per plant than those not pollinated by bees. 
They had more mature pods at the first harvest and there was a 71.7% increase in seed yield with bees. The flowering season without bees was extended and the flower abortion rate was higher in the absence of honeybees than with them present. 
In the current climate, any increase in yield must be an interesting prospect to investigate for farmers. 
To contact Plan Bee for more details on their services and products, see www.planbeeltd.com or call the head office: 01698 580572


Facts:
200 hives can produce 4200 jars of honey
25,000 miles are flown by honeybees to produce one jar of honey
10.5m honey bees ‘work’ for Plan Bee.
Bee hives can increase oilseed rape yield by up to 25%.