Aberdeen care home celebrates honey harvest with schoolchildren

A care home in Aberdeen is buzzing with excitement after hosting its honey harvest two years since introducing beehives.

Care UK’s Tor-Na-Dee, on North Deeside Road in Milltimber, has been keeping bees as part of a nature-led initiative designed to offer residents meaningful, hands-on experiences. The idea was sparked by a desire to connect residents with the outdoors and create opportunities to share knowledge with the wider community.

The home welcomed pupils from Milltimber Primary School to take part in the honey extraction process. During the session, residents and children learned from the beekeeper how bees store honey in the comb, how it’s carefully extracted, and how it’s filtered for use.

And, of course, everyone had the chance to taste the freshly harvested honey.

The sweet treat will now be used in the home’s kitchen, giving residents the chance to enjoy the fruits of their own garden.

Asked Gordon Rae, 89, said: “It was lovely, I had fun spinning the honey and it tasted good!”

Susan Ashton, Home Manager at Tor-Na-Dee, said: “It’s been such a joy seeing how much residents have embraced beekeeping.

It’s not just about the honey; it’s also about getting outside, doing something hands-on and sharing that experience with others.

“Watching residents and children learn together was really special, and we’re all excited to be using our own honey in the kitchen now!”

Tor-Na-Dee provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable residents to lead enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema, hair and beauty salon and gardens, and there is plenty of space – both indoors and out – for relaxation and recreation.