New colonies of bees have been introduced to a technology park near Ramsey.

Staff at AFD Software felt their Mountain View home would offer an ideal habitat and home for the insects.

The Mountain View site already boasts environmentally-friendly working spaces and since installing the largest solar array on the Isle of Man earlier this year, the company has been generating all the electricity used on site already saving over 9,000 kg in CO2 emissions, equivalent to planting 30 trees.

Bees are essential to a healthy environment and economy yet their numbers continue to decline.

Fortunately on the Isle of Man, the population of honey bees and wild bees are not in freefall like elsewhere - but this is no reason to be complacent.

Group managing director David Dorricott said: ’We are all world citizens and it is our responsibility to be the catalysts of change.

’One of the core values at Mountain View is being environmentally active and so we encourage and support all employees and community members to do their bit, whether it’s recycling their daily waste or avoiding single use plastic by using the filtered drinking water stations throughout the site.

’Bees are key players in the natural world and so it just makes sense with the resources we have to provide additional space for these crucial insects to thrive.’

Beekeeper Steve Bassill is pleased with how the bees have settled into their new surroundings.

He said: ’With the Mountain View Innovation Centre’s tree planting programme, landscaped gardens and an abundance of flowering trees, plants and meadow, the bees are already feasting on the plentiful pollen and collecting nectar from around the site - and no doubt helping the productivity of AFD’s staff allotment beds!

’We are optimistic that the bees have settled in well and will continue to flourish.’

People who work at Mountain View were given the opportunity to suit-up and attend an educational session held on-site with David Roberts, president of the Isle of Man Beekeepers’ Federation and Peter Wood, chairman of the Ramsey and District Beekeepers.

Mr Roberts said: ’Education is the key. We are one of only a handful of locations globally that hasn’t succumbed to the varroa mite, which devastates bee colonies. Collaborative initiatives - such as this one with AFD Software - are key to encouraging the wider community to help us maintain our disease-free status.’