We’ve found a new beekeeper, Hergen, who builds his own hives based on Layens hives, and over the last few months he has gradually reinstated the native Irish Honey Bee population in our Cloudforest One forest, a designated NIHBS conservation area.

Our fabulous beekeepers were delighted at the recent arrival of the various equipment needed for the establishment of two "National" hive sets on our Cloudforest Five site in Mountoven, Co. Kerry. They have been busy assembling the boxes, and the hive stands have been made up…

In June 2022 we were excited to see our first Irish Honey Bee hives moving into Cloudforest One Lahinch, and while it wasn’t the reason we installed the hives, we were delighted to get our first jars of honey in December. What we didn’t know then, was that unfortunately, our hive had gone queenless.

Live video from our Cloudforest Gift Tree Grove

Not many other creatures suffer from people’s perceptions as much as bats do. Their reputation well & truly precedes them. So, why do modest little bats have such a bad name?

It’s been just over a month since our beautiful Native Irish Honey Bees (apis mellifera mellifera) first arrived at our new Voluntary Conservation Area at our Cloudforest One site in Lahinch, Co. Clare. We are the first private enterprise to undertake the role of a Voluntary Conservation Area & we are very excited to go down to visit them next week and see how they are developing. 

However, the past month has not only been a big month in our Native Honey Bee conservation efforts. It’s been a big month for all of us concerned with the apis mellifera mellifera & its future.

The Protection of the Native Irish Honey Bee Bill 2021 (Protection Bill) will go through its 2nd stage in the Seanad this Thursday. 

This bill would put a ban on imports of non-native bees, and is scheduled for debate in the Seanad on Thursday with support from all parties.

Bees are some of the most important creatures in the animal kingdom. They are pollinators, who ensure food security and contribute significantly to the mitigation of climate change and the conservation of the environment. Pollinators such as bees, birds, and bats, affect 35 percent of the world's crop production, increasing the outputs of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide.