A new initiative in York is really buzzing. MATT CLARK finds out more about it.

THE sign on the gate reads "Live bees, no entry without full protection", and with good reason. As soon as Julia Smith opens her new hive at Bootham Stray allotments, hundreds, possibly thousands, of bees spray out in all directions.

Marigolds, wellies, overalls and a net mask protect Julia from pain while she inspects the colony, making sure they are getting enough food and are disease free.

And as if by reward, she discovers her first crop of honey as City of York Council's first apiary tenant.

In a previously unused plot, Julia is leading the way for a new generation of bee keepers. She's had an allotment here for two years, growing veg for her hungry house rabbits and guinea pigs, but one day Julia discovered she could produce some food to keep all to herself: honey, which is too high in sugar for her pets' digestive systems.

"I was looking at the council website and noticed it said bees were allowed on some sites," she says. "So I put two and two together, did the theory and a practical course and that meant I could apply to have bees here."

This month, Julia's apiary has become established, but courses are no substitute for the real thing and that's where Nigel Davies, of York and District Beekeeping Association, comes in, as her mentor.

"This is the first time I've had the hive coming into spring, so there are things I need to look out for," says Julia. "I check in with Nigel every couple of weeks saying I've seen this and he will say OK look for that."

Nigel is helping city-wide in a council initiative that encourages gardeners and apiarists to work together. He says allotments are an ideal setting, providing bees with a rich variety of foraging and opportunities to pollinate plants. But gardener’s shouldn't worry.

"Around the edge of this apiary the hedges are seven to eight feet tall, so any leaving the hive are forced up to well above head height," says Nigel. "They will then stay at that height until they reach the area they are foraging on."

Bees quickly learn this flight path and return at the same altitude, which should encourage them to steer clear of people working on their plots.

There are five hives in the apiary, two of them are Julia's, now the council wants to encourage more residents to join in.

Operations manager Dave Meigh says the reasons are threefold.

"We recognise the national situation, we like to be flexible in how we use our allotments and we're responding to local need," he says. "There have been hives on allotments for about eight years, but what's new is creating this special plot for bees."

Bee numbers have fallen alarmingly in recent years and losing honey bees could threaten global food security. A third of farm output depends on animal pollination and most of it is done by honey bees. For the UK, this has an estimated value of £400 million every year.

Bee are suffering, in part, due to the well-publicised Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), but there is good news – they seem to do well in an urban environment, where there is a rich variety of plants, flowers and trees to be found in gardens, roads and disused plots of land.

York Press:

Despite worries over bee numbers, better weather and improved techniques last year saw Britain's best honey yield for years.

But Julia is happy with however much her bees will make. The sense of achievement is what matters.

"It's fascinating to see how bees make the comb," she says. "One of the things I found really surprising is all the different colours of pollen they bring in, depending on where they are foraging and what flowers they're visiting."

There's green pollen, black pollen and at the moment it's scarlet from gorse. Dandelions are in plentiful supply and oil seed rape is also prominent this month. Nigel says this makes for great honey, because, unlike some pollens, it sets hard and won't spill down your shirt.

Another good thing about urban honey is it's thought to be more flavoursome than the countryside variant, because of the diversity of nectar on offer. Some even claim it cures hay fever.

Bees are also a great way to connect city dwellers with nature, so if you fancy coming home after a hard day at work to watch your own colony bring nectar and pollen into their hive, this just might be the perfect stress buster.

Rents for a hive at Bootham Stray Allotments start at £10 a year, which includes mandatory training, because there are a number of things to appreciate.

For example, did you know there are different strains of honey bee, Apis mellifera? Many in Britain are black or dark brown; others have yellow bands on their abdomens. Some bees are very easy to control, while others are virtually uncontrollable, especially in the hands of a beginner, so it is important to be taught how to source bees of a docile temperament.

"I would advise anyone thinking of becoming a bee keeper to contact the association because you get this fantastic support network," says Julia.

"Obviously there is the wider story of the bee population being in decline, so it's nice to feel you're playing a teeny, tiny part in helping to reverse that, having a greater understanding of your own impact and how you can help."

If you are interested in renting a council hive call 01904 553399, or visit york.gov.uk/info/200410/allotments/173/allotments, where there is further information to download York and District Beekeeping Association also offers training and support at yorkbeekeepers.com