We had a great turnout over the 17 week Summer Course in our Beginners Apiary, which ran from May through to September.
James kept the Beginners very informed of checking the hives for any signs of disease, sufficient stores, sufficient space for the queen to lay, uniting a colony, identifying issues in the hive, laying workers, drone laying queens, robbing, swarm techniques and additional equipment needed, treatments and feeding.
The Beginners enjoyed their weekly inspections, they were all able to get into the bees to inspect them, had good use of the hive tool, were able to light a smoker and more importantly keep it going, gained knowledge of keeping good records and they experienced a shook swarm procedure. We ended the course by putting all their knowledge together by having a quiz, complete with tea & cakes.
One Beginner, Sarah, had attended all the 17 weeks and was presented with a hive tool, which she was extremely thrilled to receive, her first piece of beekeeping kit !
We look forward to seeing these new beekeepers at our winter lectures and Christmas meal, and look forward to seeing them start their beekeeping journey in 2025.
Thanks go to James Mundye who runs the course, his enthusiasm is infectious, and never falters with the bombardment of questions that are thrown at him.
He is ably supported by Steve, Jitesh, Phil & Julia
