Take a look inside the Port Glasgow apiary home to half a million bees

Yahoo

16-07-2025

A GROUP of busy beekeepers have given homes to half a million bees who help Inverclyde's nature flourish and grow alongside offering a therapeutic experience for some.
The Inverclyde Shed has been looking after 50,000 honeybees which have been nestled amongst an industrial estate in Port Glasgow for nearly five years and locals are able to get up close and personal with the buzzing insects.
The apiary, located in Devol industrial estate, is home to 10 honeybee colonies. They feed off the long, flowery garden where their hives stay and a large garden with over 200-foot-tall tress just behind the enclosures fence - this benefits both the bees and the gardens.
The Port Glasgow apiary has 10 hives which are home to 50,000 bees each (Image: George Munro)
Three years ago, the hives were moved from the Shed's market garden to a few streets away after a couple of queen bees died, with group members saving as many colonies as they could.
Earlier this month the Tele took a visit to the apiary and got the chance to suit up and take a look inside one of the hives, learning about bee husbandry, how beekeepers identify problems with the creatures and how they help them produce honey.
(Image: George Munro)
A harvest of honey is only collected three times a year (Image: George Munro) Founder of the organisation Bruce Newlands said the beekeeping group has developed into a project that he says has become a 'unique' hobby for many and, despite the bees at the Port Glasgow site not being they type which are endangered, the group is still helping pollinators within the local ecosystem.
Bruce said: 'The reason the Shed does bees is that we found out that it can be remarkably therapeutic and very calming for people.
'Of course, we get honey and produce from the apiary but that's not our reason for looking after these bees.
'We spend a lot more time looking after them than taking honey, we are far more interested in the environmental impact it can have as well as the therapeutic benefits it can have for people.'
Bruce says they have had people with bipolar and anxiety struggles get involved because of the bees calming properties.
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David Maugere has been a beekeeper at the Devol site for a few years now and has developed the apiary onto a 'different scale' by taking the bees into schools across Inverclyde and hosting sessions in libraries to teach people about the creatures and see close up how they work.
David, who is originally from France, says he has found a great community in the Shed having joined in 2020 and has been able to bring his love of beekeeping to Inverclyde.
He told the Tele: 'Having seen my own kids take an interest in the bees, we have decided to take a different approach to the apiary this year and take it out of the garden and into schools.
'We want to show off how much fun beekeeping can be and teach people.
'It's amazing to see the group grow from only a couple of us to nearly 10 of us.'
Bruce Newlands (left) Tele reporter Isla Robertson and David Maugere (right) (Image: George Munro) David now trains up new Shed members to work with the colonies and has also been saving bees from across Inverclyde, recently rehoming a swam of them who were living in Greenock supermarket car park.
To enquire about visiting the apiary, contact the Shed at [e-mail].
Those interested should also keep an eye on the Shed's Facebook page where they will post dates for further library information sessions with the bees.