19 May 2026

Since the end of last season, we have experienced months of cold, rainy and damp weather. Damp can be very detrimental to the health of bee colonies, and by the time spring arrived we had lost a couple of hives.

Throughout the country the weather has been challenging for bee colonies, with many beekeepers reporting significant losses.

Alhamdulillah, most of our bees survived, and soon began to build up again into strong colonies. Indeed, the spring of 2026 started early, and all our hives are around 3–4 weeks ahead of their usual schedule.

Science Fair

Before looking further at this season, it’s nice to record that in November 2025 our beekeepers, Khalil and Salma, set up an interactive display at the Science Fair here at the London Muslim Centre.

They introduced many people to the science side of beekeeping, including pollen analysis, microscopy, honeybee genetics, and the uses of the various products of the hive.

Beekeeper refresher sessions

In February, previous beekeeping students were invited to a special day of training to prepare them for the year ahead. This included teaching how to make wax frames, how to sterilize hive boxes, how to ensure the bees have enough food to last until the first flowers open, and how to extract honey.

This event gave past students a chance to learn new skills that they will need in the coming years.

National Farmers Union

In March the National Farmers Union visited, to help with the production of an educational video about beekeeping that can be used by schools in their science lessons.

These science videos reach thousands of young students, and highlight the importance of bees for plant reproduction and their significance in Islam.

Future plans

We are planning a special event in June, in collaboration with the Epping Forest Beekeepers and the National planned Bee Unit, taking place at the East London Mosque. It will be a special ‘bee health day’, where up to 60 beekeepers can sign up for a free, all-day session to learn all about bee health.

To ensure there are enough bee hives to run courses, our beekeepers decided to start queen rearing earlier in the season than usual. Insha’Allah, we will have more to say about rearing queen bees in our next Bee Blog article.

To find out more about courses offered by our beekeepers, or to purchase local honey and hive products, visit their website: Bushwood Bees.