How volunteers at a Manchester community allotment are saving bees

Amid the hum of late spring, voluntary beekeepers at Longford Park in Manchester are quietly playing a vital role in the fight to protect one of the planet’s most essential creatures: the bee.

As the world marked World Bee Day on Tuesday, 20 May, the community-run allotment in Trafford prepared to welcome a new beehive – a small but significant step in boosting local biodiversity and promoting awareness of the crucial role pollinators play in global food security.

“We’re waiting for a nucleus, which we hope will develop into a new hive,” said Hilary Phillips, beekeeper and leader of the Longford Park volunteer team. “It’s a delicate process. The bees can even decide to replace their queen if they want, which is fascinating and shows just how complex these creatures are.”

The new arrivals are expected from nearby Heaton Park and will join an existing colony at the allotment. Volunteers have been carefully tending to the bees, whose presence reflects both environmental stewardship and community resilience.

In Manchester, the bee has a deeply rooted significance. It has long been a symbol of the city’s industrious spirit and, since the 2017 Arena bombing, has also come to represent unity and rebirth. It’s no surprise, then, that Mancunians are once again turning to the bee – this time, to protect the natural world and secure the food systems that rely on it.

“Bees are vital,” said Hilary. “They’re the world’s pollinators. They’ve been cultivated by humans for so long, they actually need us to survive – and we need them just as much.”

World Bee Day 2025 is spotlighting the role bees play in food production, with over 87 of the world’s 115 leading food crops dependent on pollination. Yet bees face mounting threats from climate change, habitat loss, and pesticide use. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports that nearly a quarter of Europe’s bumblebee species are now threatened with extinction.

“On World Bee Day, it’s great to celebrate bees and volunteers like Hilary and her team who are doing brilliant work to make sure they thrive,” said Robert Palmer, Deputy Director at climate group Uplift. “But bees are in danger, and we must act. Their survival is directly tied to our own.”

The Longford Park Community Allotment is more than just a green space – it’s a grassroots movement powered by local volunteers determined to make a difference. Through hands-on education, sustainable gardening, and urban beekeeping, they’re proving that community spirit can drive meaningful environmental change.

To learn more about the project or to support their work, visit the Friends of Longford Park website here