Starston Community Bee Group all a buzz after a decade in the village

A beehive project that has become the heart of its community has celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Starston Community Bee Group was formed in 2014 after villagers raised £10,000 to buy a couple of acres of land in the centre of the village.

Having started with just one hive, the group and the apiary of bees has grown to five hives, each with their own colony.

Group leader Peter Grimble said: “We began as complete novices but we found that there were lots of beekeeping groups who were really interested in helping us with this idea.

“So a group of us who were managing the meadow volunteered to go on a beekeeping course with Waveney Beekeepers and that got us to learn one end of a bee from another.”

Though the group’s knowledge was still basic, it has developed over the years thanks to the help of a lot of established beekeepers, including the Dicklebees support group.

Mr Grimble said: “After learning on the job, we have now got to that stage where we can pass on that knowledge to other would-be beekeepers.

“We have an ever-changing membership in the group, so it is nice to be able to show new faces the bees to carry it on.”

When the honey is ready, it is extracted and sold to villagers, while also helping to the stock the shelves of The Green Cupboard shop in Harleston.

“It is a best-seller there, so we are told,” said Mr Grimble. “People seem to love it for its completely natural, untreated taste.”

With proceeds from the sales going into supporting the village’s Jubilee Hall, the group has created its own circular economy.

“It really is a local, sustainable practice, which puts money back into the community and people love just having the bees in the meadow and tasting the honey,” added Mr Grimble.

The 77-year-old said the project had come along way since the idea first began to take shape and he said he was pleased about that.

“The bees have become part of the village now; the heart of the community if you like, and people cannot imagine life without them,” he said.

“It is great that this small project, which was started with a few volunteers a decade ago, has become such a big part of village life.

“I would like to thank everyone who has supported us with this and the beekeeping fraternity for being so helpful. You never stop learning with bees and we can’t wait to see where the project will take us in the next 10 years.”