Ellesmere abuzz over giant bee sculpture

Caroline Lowe, the artist behind the new Bee Metropolis, in Cremorne Gardens, Ellesmere, has said the creation took a couple of months to complete from the beginning of the idea.

She said: "It was a collaborative project and I think it highlights that the bees have a hard time at the moment.

"This sculpture creates a bee habitat area and is a big statement that this is for bees – the whole area is for bees.

"They can fly into the gaps through the willow and it creates a good place for bees to settle."

The sculpture sits on a mound of wood and has been built from three beech trees that needed to be felled.

All of the wood has been drilled with hundreds of holes so solitary bees can create a home there.

And with its imaginative design, it has already been acknowledged nationally with The Mere being named one of the winners for the 'Bees Needs' campaign, which is coordinated by Defra and the National Pollinator Strategy.

Miss Lowe said: "A friend, John Davies, made the metal frame and I created the willow sculpture.

"All in all to come up with the design and the metal work and to grow the willow it was a couple of months.

"All the willow is sustainable and the creation is all about working with the environment and highlighting issues with wildlife.

"I am really pleased with the finished piece. I think it works very well.

"We only had a doodle to go on initially, and I think we have got as close as we could to that doodle so I am very pleased."

The Bee Metropolis has been mostly funded via the Ellesmere Sculpture initiative and has been welcomed by town and county councillors.