This Summer children can learn about bees and watch them up close in the bee hive at childrens farm, Odds Farm Park. After the disastrous year for bees in 2008, bee colonies had decreased critically, with many bee colonies wiped out.
Set up on the perimeter of Odds Farm Park by Bob the Beekeeper (from his apiary in Great Kingshill, High Wycombe) the hive ensures children can see the inner workings through a clear glass panel, whilst allowing bees to enter/exit the hive safely away from the farm.
Although the Odds Farm Park hive is one tenth of a fully working hive, it operates in exactly the same way. Worker bees (infertile females) collect the nectar and pollen, drone bees (males) mate with the Queen, and house-worker bees (infertile females) keep the hive clean and organised, feed the young with pollen and make the honey from the nectar. The Queen bee is much larger than the other bees and her only responsibility is to lay eggs and keep order. In fact children looking very carefully may actually see her moving around her bee hive.
A good quality full size hive can produce about 40-50 lbs of honey in a year – and for honey fans, they can buy Bob’s Pure Buckinghamshire Honey from Odds Farm Park’s Gift Shop. The bee hive viewing window, next to Rabbit World, is a fantastic new addition for children on a day out and expected to be both educational and fun.
Odds Farm Park is a childrens farm located near Beaconsfield, easily reached from Berkshire, West London, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire from Junction 2 of the M40. To plan a family day out, visit the farm parks main website at www.oddsfarm.co.uk
