Newsroom Archive

The Travelodge Beehive is one of two hives to mark the next stage of the Telford Town Park Bee Project. Funded through Parks for People’s Lottery, the project started back in February with a set of ‘Beekeeping for Beginners’ courses at the Town Park Visitor Centre delivered by Alison’s Bee Class. 

The aim of the project, working with Alison as a mentor, is to raise awareness of the importance of these fantastic insects.

This project comes on the back of the National Pollinator Strategy; through training staff and volunteers the strategy aims to encourage beekeeping within Telford & Wrekin. Long term, the aim is to create an apiary at the Town Park to extend this knowledge and enthusiasm.

The project is managed by the Telford Town Park team under the guidance of local Bee Keeper, Alison Wakeman and assistance of the Friends of the Park volunteers and Telford and Wrekin Services gardeners.   

The bespoke Travelodge beehive is made from red cedar wood and has been painted in natural bee friendly paint. The UK’s first Travelodge Bee Hotel features five floors and around 60,000 honeybees can check-in from Spring 2019 free of charge.  

Telford & Wrekin Council and Travelodge worked with Apiarist, Alison Wakeman, on the design and installation of the company’s first beehive.  Alison has been studying bees for over 15 years and is the founder of ‘Alison’s Bee’s Class’ and delivers the academic course called ‘Awareness of Bees and the Importance in the Environment’. 

Alison travels across the UK teaching primary school children: the importance of bees, their vital role to the environment and how they contribute to the UK economy through their food crop pollination. Alison Wakeman said: “I am buzzing that Travelodge has opened its first Bee Hotel in Telford. This year, the town is celebrating its 50th anniversary so it is a great gift that will keep giving.”

“This opening will help to raise awareness of how essential honeybees are to our environment. They are one of the world’s most important pollinator of food crop and support one third of the food that we consume every day. Therefore we all need to work together to support our bee population.”

The Travelodge beehive was officially opened by Telford Mayor, Councillor Raj Mehta and Councillor John Minor, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Green Spaces and Parks, who said: “Telford Town Park is the perfect setting for an apiary as it is home to thousands of different types of flowers; the team is thrilled to develop this project even further. We may even see some honey in 2019.”