One of the aims of our association is to ‘advance the education of the public in the importance of bees in the environment.’ Children and young people are fascinated by bees so surely taking an observation hive full of bees into a school is a good idea?
Two of our members, Jan and Jane, visited Lindsworth School (at the end of June 2023) a specialist school in south Birmingham. The 20 youngsters who took part in the visit were really knowledgeable about bees and enjoyed rolling candles, tasting honey and meeting the queen and her entourage.
The staff enjoyed the visit as well and couldn’t help trying on the bee suits and buzzing around the playground
Month: July 2023
Gardeners World Live 15/6/23
I was recently asked to attend Gardeners world live as a bee steward.I arrived at the BBKA stand at 9 am for a four hour slot.Their stand was very impressive with lots of information about bees. There was a chance to look at bees and pollen through a microscope and a chance to spot the queen in an observation hive.
Once the public stampeded into the show there was a lot of attention at the stand and a quick chance to try various types of honey(not the mead unfortunately!)
The Gardeners world presenters were filming throughout the day but sadly they didnt come and say hello. It amazed me how many people were needed to do the filming.
At the end of my 4 hours I was free to walk around the show and enjoy the wonderful gardens and plants.
Richard James
Swarm Management training day 8/7/23
Yes, why bees swarm, what to look for before they swarm, how to recognise when they are in a swarming mood. How to perform a pagden Artificial swarm split
- When the queen is found
- When she is not found
How to perform a split using a Nuc. Equipment needed to catch a swarm, how to collect a swarm, and how to hive it. All the techniques on swarm control were demonstrated using modified national and nucleus hives without bees.
Handouts were produced and distributed to the members who attended. They seemed to enjoy it and found it useful despite the threat of thunder storms, we then visited the apiary where I examined and manipulated three colonies.
Colin Overton