Loughborough Gold is an exclusive product made by the University’s very own honeybees, who were welcomed to the Loughborough campus in 2013 in a bid to support the declining population while increasing pollination and biodiversity. Our Apiary is staffed by volunteers without whom we could not make this honey available. This year, the team included 21 active volunteers clocking up 135 sessions in total (an average of 6.5 sessions per volunteer).
The honey is now available for staff and students to purchase from the University Online Shop. Please note that the Staff Online Shop accepts Agresso code payment only, so personal purchases must be made via the Community and Student Online Shops. ‘Bee prepared’ as sales will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. There is an initial limit of two jars per person, but you can come back for more after Christmas if there are any left.
Loughborough Gold Honey is a natural raw product and as such the texture, consistency and colour of this can vary as a result of the bee production (pollen and weather conditions) but also the process of extraction and jarring.
This year, alongside the usual half lb jars, we will be trialling smaller jars, in both 1oz and 2oz jars, perfect for a stocking filler.
The honey costs £6.75 for a half lb jar, £2.10 for 2oz, and £1.05 for 1oz, and the money collected from the sale will be used for looking after our bee colonies.
Online Shop customers will be contacted after making their purchase to let them know their order is ready to collect from the Herbert Manzoni Building counter. If you have any queries regarding collection, please email creativeandprint@lboro.ac.uk. Please note that due to the delicate nature of this product, delivery is not possible.
The apiary volunteers have worked hard throughout the year to look after the bees and to harvest the honey over the summer months, ready to be jarred and sold. This year, the sale of the honey covered the cost of theory training for 10 members of staff and practical training for another, and the Sustainability team will be making more training available in the new year to maintain the knowledge of our volunteers. The team have also invested in the equipment needed to support Apiary operations and the extraction and jarring process.
Nik Hunt, Environmental Manager, said: “We are really grateful for the work of the volunteers supporting the bees and helping with honey extraction and jarring. We only have a very small Sustainability team and couldn’t do this without the volunteers. Thank you to all our volunteers this year. Volunteering is a great opportunity to support campus sustainability and biodiversity without needing to be an expert in these fields.”
If you would like to learn more about volunteering at the Apiary, please email sustainability@mailbox.lboro.ac.uk.
Take a look at when the Social Media team visited the University Apiary.
The bees support our activities in aid of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- 11 – Sustainable cities and communities
- 12 – Responsible consumption and production
- 15 – Life on land