The Bird and the Bees

'Alan' the Partridge

 Its been a funny old week. I get a call off Councillor Julie Stewart -Turner one morning saying "You've got a car. Can you go and rescue a young partridge that is sitting by this shop in Lockwood?" So off me and Cllr Karen Allison trot armed with a cardboard box and find the aforementioned partridge, looking a bit sorry for itself and put it in the box. Now it is worth saying at this point for people who do not know Huddersfield that Lockwood is not the natural habitat of partridges. It's like finding a crocodile in the Antarctic or a Lib Dem in Newsome. It's just not their natural habitat. Lockwood is built up, close to the Town Centre and not a place you feel likely to find what some people refer to as 'game birds'. So having rescued the Partridge the question was what to do with it next? We rang Cllr Robert Barraclough, a farmer who living in Farnley Tyas may well have come across the odd partridge in his time. We didn't fancy his first suggestion too much but then he did identify a spot in Farnley Tyas where it would be good to relocate it. It would be in its natural surroundings and be able to forage, so off we went and released it back into the wild. What has happened to 'Alan' now is anyone's guess but hopefully feeling a bit more at home than it was. As casework goes a bit more bizarre than usual. So that was the bird! Next the bees!

Cllr Karen Allison opens the Apiary at Kirklees College Taylor Hill Annex

For a long time I have been keen to get the concept of the Bee-llotment established. We have had A-llotments for years but we need to get more and more purpose built homes for colonies of bees where their hives are cared for, secure and are safe from predators. Somewhere a hive can thrive! I was really pleased to hear that Huddersfield Bee Keepers Association have established an Apiary with 3 hives at the Kirklees College Taylor Hill Annex. Cllr Karen Allison was asked to open it which she was very keen to do and she is even considering getting her own hive. It is an ideal spot for holding bee keeping courses and the links with the College are particularly welcome with opportunities to pass on skills to new generations. This is an important project with the many threats to bees. Their fate and ours, with regards to the pollination of many crops, are inextricably linked. The Bee-Keepers are hoping to build the Apiary up to be a 8 hive site and they regard the area as a great spot for foraging. The next job for us is to look at what we can do to get more wild flower plants in the area. The fact that the Council are cutting back on grass cutting might be something we can turn into a real positive by finding more areas for wild flowers providing new food sources for the new bee colonies in the Newsome area.

The 'Bee- Suited' Cllr Karen Allison