A new project is creating a buzz among prisoners at Castle Huntly with beekeeping to be introduced as an activity at the open prison near Dundee.
Just like the inmates, the bees will be allowed a certain degree of freedom flying outwith the prison walls.
The jail approached East of Scotland Beekeepers’ Association (ESBA) for advice, and the group is currently helping to set up the project.
President Gavin Ramsay said: “They’re keen to learn a bit about beekeeping and try it out and we’ve agreed to help them.
“They will be having bees within the grounds of Castle Huntly. It is different, but we do spend quite a bit of time helping people get into beekeeping.
“It’s usually individuals, but sometimes groups of people from a company club together and share their resources to start them off.”
The club has already visited the prisoners and Mr Ramsay said they are keen to get involved.
“There’s certainly an enthusiasm,” he said.
“One of the issues is continuity. You need people around that have enough interest to develop their knowledge over a period of time.
“We’ll just have to see how it goes. It depends how quickly they learn things.”
Mr Ramsay said beginners generally need help for about two years before they know what they are doing.
Head of offender outcomes Mary Stewart said: “The prisoners had read an article that bees were dying out, and what a huge global impact that could have.
“We have some land available in the open estate so we looked at developing the prisoners’ interest as a learning opportunity.
“Hopefully, as the project progresses, our Castle Huntly hives will start to increase the number of bees in the Scottish countryside and especially the Carse of Gowrie.
“We hope the prisoners who take part will benefit by returning to their communities and families with new learning and skills which assist them in finding employment.”