A north-east farm will be transformed into a hive of activity if plans for a bee shed are approved.
Tarland Bee Group hopes to build a £60,000 apiary at the former walled garden at Coull Home Farm, near Aboyne, with it “barely keeping up” with the demand from bee enthusiasts.
About 120 people have been learning about how to care for the flying insects over the last four years.
By constructing a bee shed and shelter, more people would be able to use the facilities.
Yvonne Davidson, who co-ordinates the group, said: “We have outgrown our current apiary so we are struggling to teach people.
“We have had a few disappointed Brownies all lined up in their bee suits and then we can’t go into the hive because of the rain.
“The new shed would be covered so we could still teach on dreich days.”
With global concern about the declining population of honeybees and its associated effect on the environment, Mrs Davidson said there has been a “resurgence” in beekeeping as a hobby.
She said: “At the moment it’s vital as bees are under threat from so many things they’re really not surviving in the wild any more and the only thing really keeping them going is beekeepers.
“There are so many diseases and in the environment there aren’t the same places for them to forage.”
The new shed would also be used by local apple pressing and seed swapping groups.
There are also plans to grow a wildflower meadow, which would be of benefit to the bees and the nearby community orchard with pollination.
If planning permission is granted, the shed will become an attraction on the Tarland Trails walking route.
“Centuries ago the walled garden was used for keeping bees, and they used holes in the wall called bee boles,” Mrs Davidson said.
“We are going to reinstate them and it will be a stop for people on the trail to read all about the history of the garden.”
She added: “If it goes ahead we will be delirious.
“Then the next really big hurdle is funding, and we’ll have to do a big fundraising campaign.
“Beekeeping an interesting project that’s certainly environmentally friendly, and one that anyone can get involved in.”
