One of the UK’s leading interactive science centres, At-Bristol Science Centre, has created the world’s first live tweeting honeybees (@citybeehive and @countrybeehive) in a joint initiative with BeeBristol and scientists from the University of Bristol aiming to engage people with the lives of the bees through innovative use of technology and social media.
The science centre’s green roof became home to an urban beehive in July 2015, which is tended to by At-Bristol staff specially trained by BeeBristol. Now that the hive is established, it has been fitted with scientific equipment to capture data on bee behaviour, air quality and weather, which will be compared with a rural hive in Langford 14 miles south of Bristol. Both Twitter feeds @citybeehive and @countrybeehive and will tweet in character about their daily activity, which will be triggered by live data collected and analysed as part of the scientific research looking at the impact of city living on honeybee colonies. It is predicted that human activity will have an effect on urban bees as a result of 7 day cycles in air quality, due to pollution caused by Monday–Friday commuter traffic.
Visitors to At-Bristol have been able to take part in Live from the Hive through a new exhibit in an indoor greenhouse in the Food! exhibition, since 28 May. The exhibit enables visitors to compare the behaviour of the two bee colonies in real time using live webcam images of the bees, interactive graphs using live data including ‘bees per minute’, air quality, weather, and the latest tweets from the both of the beehives. Live from the Hive is also accessible online from the At-Bristol website.
Live images from inside At-Bristol’s beehive will be featured on the popular BBC programme Springwatch,running from 30 May for three weeks. Big Screen Bristol will also be showing live images of the hives at regular intervals throughout the project, and on 1 June DreamWorks Animation’s Bee Movie will be screened for free in Millennium Square to celebrate the launch of the project. During half term (until 5 June) a ‘Feed the Bees’ activity is also running in the greenhouse, where you can take home a sweet treat for our fuzzy friends.
At-Bristol’s Sustainability Engagement Manager, Chris Dunford, said: “We are delighted to be launching Live from the Hive! We are committed to becoming the most sustainable science centre in the UK, and part of that work involves supporting pollinators, so we are very proud to use our hive in academic research. We hope that everyone will enjoy following the lives of our bees and learning more about how city life effects them.”
Tim Barsby, Founder and Director of BeeBristol, added: "Live from the Hive is an important, unique and visionary experiment pioneering an interactive and engaging experience that connects people with nature. Thanks to attentive beekeeping we have nurtured a healthy colony of urban bees on the roof of At-Bristol, so we are very excited to see the results and start tweeting!"
The University of Bristol's Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Sensory Biophysics, Dr Dominic Clarke, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for us to share science with the public as it happens. Maybe someone out there will spot something interesting in our data before we do!
At-Bristol has reduced its energy consumption by 27% in the last 5 years, and currently holds a range of green awards including a Green Tourism Business Scheme Gold Award, Soil Association Food for Life Gold Catering Mark, and previously won the Bristol Tourism and Hospitality Awards for sustainable tourism and bronze Sustainable Tourism Award at the VisitEngland Awards. During last year’s important year for Bristol, At-Bristol continued its focus on community and city initiatives; playing host to the ‘Energy Tree’, the Bristol Whales and the Tap into Bristol free water fountain outside on Millennium Square, all part of the European Green Capital project.
For further information on the project visit at.bristol.org.uk/bees and follow the bees on Twitter @citybeehive and @countrybeehive.
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