New Beehive Opens At Amazon In Manchester

The Amazon fulfilment centre in Manchester has collaborated with a beehive management service to turn a hive of bees that nested near the building into a permanent fixture.

Hive5 Manchester is a beehive management service offering a range of services such as beekeeper courses, beehive rental and management for businesses, school beehive sponsoring, community engagement events and beekeeper mentoring.

The beekeepers at Hive5 recently visited the Amazon fulfilment centre in Manchester to install a permanent, safe, and sustainable beehive after a swarm created a hive on a signpost on the road leading to the site.

The Amazon team wanted to find a safe and sustainable way to relocate the bees and enlisted the help of Hive5 to move the hive safely to a more secure location. In partnership with Hive5, the Amazon team in Manchester created a sustainability project that will see members of the Amazon team attend Hive5’s training courses to learn how to maintain the beehive at the fulfilment centre.

Hive5 has also offered to give bottled branded honey to the fulfilment centre every November, during harvest season. This will be used by Amazon as an award for its sustainability awards hosted annually, where employees are rewarded for their sustainable ideas and efforts.

The Amazon site in Manchester has further enhanced its substantiality by installing solar panels on the roof of the fulfilment centre, which were recently activated. The solar panels will provide power for the building.

Ian Jackson, General Manager at Amazon in Manchester, said:

“Everyone at Amazon in Manchester is excited with the addition of the beehive and I’d like to thank the team at Hive5 for their support in making this project possible. Sustainability is incredibly important to our team at Amazon in Manchester and I’m looking forward to seeing the hive grow over the coming weeks and months.”

Louise Bennett, an employee at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Manchester who is taking part in the Hive5 training, added:

“It is great to be involved in this initiative, and I’m excited to learn more about bee preservation and maintenance with the team at Hive5.”

Damson Tregaskis from Hive5 said:

“Thank you to the Amazon team in Manchester for welcoming us to their site. It is our pleasure to work alongside the team and help them with this beekeeping initiative.”
The partnership with Hive5 was created as a part of Amazon’s programme to support the communities around its operating locations across the UK.

Amazon is providing disadvantaged students with online STEM courses, as well as teaming up with charity partner Magic Breakfast and delivering more than five million healthy breakfasts to families in England.