Harehills ❤️ Love

It wouldn’t be a Good News Advent Calendar without CATCH, Community Action To Create Hope, based in the heart of Harehills.

Earlier this year was I was given the huge privilege to go to one of their evening sessions, meet with people there and take about the amazing work they do, and the challenges they face. Myself and my niece also got to meet the goats. Love goats, they’re absolutely amazing, and lovely.

I will absolutely write more about my experiences there, and hopefully get along to meet with them again. Catch is amazing, and all the more amazing for what I’m covering in today’s advent entry.

So a bit of backstory, back in May 2021, I went on a bit of a venture trying to track down if there was anyone in or around Harehills that kept bees and produced honey. I ended up in contact with the Leeds Bee Keepers Association, but came up short on local honey.

I love honey. I’ll happily pay premium for really good honey. I have it on toast, on crackers, in my porridge, in my cooking, one of my favourite drinks especially when I have a cold is simply hot water, lemon and honey. Being a supporter of local enterprise as much as I can be, the thought of local honey was amazing.

Well CATCH have done just that. CATCH has it’s own urban farm, with the aforementioned goats, and extensive vegetable growing. That’s right, a farm in the heart of Harehills, run and maintain by our fabulous young people. For over a year they have been working towards an apiary, (a bee yard, or where you keep your bee hives), and in April, under the cover of darkness they moved the newest members of CATCH Leeds in.

In the cover of darkness we moved our honey bees 🐝 to their new home on our site. Over the last few weeks we have been working with our young people to develop the apiary and teach them all about bees and the different types. They also took part in a honey tasting 🍯 workshop! pic.twitter.com/EgD9gG7GfZ

— CATCH Leeds (@CATCHLeeds) April 23, 2023

And after a few months of the bees settling in, and getting to their bee business (business that is incredibly vital for our world, our agriculture, and our ecology), they had started producing honey. Young people were out in bee suits, tending to their the smallest members of Team CATCH.

Our bees 🐝 are now fully established as part of the CATCH Farm Family and our young people have been trying on their bee-keeping suits learning to trust their kit. This is more than just pollinating the environment and getting amazing honey 🍯 – it’s an educational experience! pic.twitter.com/98Z4rtUJ8r

— CATCH Leeds (@CATCHLeeds) May 2, 2023

And where bees go, honey flows – and so it was in July, CATCH harvested the first of the honey:

1/3) For over a year now we have kept honey bees on our site & been involving young people in bee keeping duties alongside experienced bee keepers. Today was our first honey harvest & honey making workshop with young people. There was so much enthusiasm & excitement in the room! pic.twitter.com/LEE4wtAH2b

— CATCH Leeds (@CATCHLeeds) July 1, 2023

I’ve not had chance to try the honey yet, but reviews make it sound amazing, as Francesca Wood writes:

Thanks for the @CATCHLeeds honey: it's delicious! (Saving the #HealthyHolidaysLeeds beeswax candle to use later!) It's been a joy to watch your #HAF2023 sessions this week, and to see all your young volunteers in action 💚#HarehillsHoney 💚 https://t.co/9G7jes4dgM pic.twitter.com/cD4I3tM4to

— Francesca Wood (@francjwood) August 5, 2023

They’re making candles and other things with the beeswax too, utterly productive, creative and amazing. I’m very envious of the opportunities our young people get through CATCH.

And there’s never been a better time to get some flowering plants, vegetables and fruit out in your gardens, as the bees spread, you’ll be contributing even in the smallest way, to this amazing harvest of honey, and new plants as the bees spread pollen around.

Thank you CATCH Leeds for making my dreams of Harehills Honey come true!