Keeper Andrew Smith created the popular beehouse in Finsbury Park 20 years ago

“SAVE the bees!” is the call from a beekeeper whose internationally renowned beehouse is looking for a new home.

Andrew Smith has been the founder and head beekeeper of the Finsbury Park Beehouse for the last 20 years. But, without warning, he was told by Haringey Council that he had to move his beehouse out of the park or it would be shut down.

Mr Smith dismantled the beehouse on Monday and moved the honey bees to an orchard in Crouch End.

He and his beehouse are now looking for a new home and putting the call out to any community gardens who might want to have them.

Mr Smith said: “We were part of what was called ‘the first wave of urban beekeeping’. I mean, I’ve been doing beekeeping since I was about seven years old.

“The idea was to set up a hub for beekeeping in this new setting. We were given permission to be in the park due to the bee pollinator decline in the park, so it was for the ecological benefit of the park.

“The beehouse has become internationally known. I’ve travelled to different countries to speak at conferences about it. Closing it, with the climate crisis [looming], seems ridiculous.”

Bees play an essential role in our environment. If all bees were to die tomorrow, human and animal food chains would be drastically changed for the worse.

Andrew Smith

“Bees as pollinators are very important for the whole food system. They pollinate trees in the park, flowers, different fruits, and vegetables – all these rely on pollination. That’s why bees are important – we live in a symbiotic relationship with them,” said Mr Smith.

The beehouse is a community asset as well as an ecological oasis. In 2019, a tree that fell in a storm broke its roof. Instead of trying to raise funds to get professionals in to fix it, Mr Smith turned it into a community carpentry workshop where anyone could come and learn the tools of the trade.

“The cafe in the park very kindly donated some wood to us and people came along over two years and helped to fix the beehouse up,” he said.

“The beehouse really came into its own during lockdown because it was a place that people could gather outside and social distance. I have a friend who works with teenagers with mental health problems, and I’ve let her bring those teenagers to the beehouse to let them reconnect with nature.

“A lot of the young people spend all their time on computer games, like up to 17 hours a day. They just lost all connection with anyone around them and anything to do with nature. So these people used to come along, and then one of the beekeepers would get them involved.

“After a few visits, they’d start doing things themselves, like helping to fix up the beehouse and do some painting.”

Mr Smith is refusing to allow the benefits of beekeeping to be confined to the past. “I’m trying to move the beehouse to a new community garden that I’m in talks with. But if that doesn’t come around, I’m open to any alternative places for it.”

Haringey Council did not respond to a request for comment.