Cardiff University is now bee-friendly

Cardiff University is set to become one of the UK’s first bee-friendly campuses


Students and local residents have been working hard to plant a ‘bee friendly’ garden at the Grange Bowls Pavilion by cultivating plants which encourage the production of antibacterial honey.

The project is being run by Community Gateway, Pollen8Cymru, BugLife, Cardiff University’s School of Pharmacy, Student Volunteering Cardiff and local primary schools in Grangetown.

One of the bee projects discovered Welsh honey had as much antibacteria as manuka honey

Researchers from the School and the National Botanic Garden of Wales have been working to identify plant-derived drugs to treat antibiotic resistant hospital pathogens. Hopefully the bees will soon produce honey with antibacterial properties that can be used as part of the research project.

They are working to turn gardens, parks and empty urban spaces into habitats for pollinators, such as bees, beetles, wasps and butterflies.

Cardiff University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science has been involved with other projects around the city creating similar pollinator spaces such as at the Students Union, around Redwood Building including three on the roof, and on the roof of St David’s shopping centre.