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Beekeeping Weekend Courses, Natural Beekeeping Days and Hive Building Workshops
There is no better time to start keeping bees
Reason 1, We need bees! Without bees our stay on this planet would come to a natural end within 5 to 10 years - a humbling thought.
But there have been massive collapses in bee colonies world wide with little understanding of why. Theories abound but one thing is sure, we need bees much more than they need us. They'd be a healthier, happier species without us and our manipulation of their environment which creates the vast monocultures we claim we need to feed oursleves. These are unsupportive and barren landscapes for insects - especially bees.
Bees will happily pollinate plants for us - without charge - all day every day, but we persist in meddling with the natural balances of nature and the plants on which they rely. Without plants, both ends of the food chain will collapse and we, along with many many species, will perish.
The more people that keep bees the better - the gene pool will be broadened and with it an accelerated new resilience to the challenges that today's bees face. In addition, if more people can keep bees using a natural low chemcial approach, it will equip those colonies with a stronger consitution to make those changes more rapidly and effectivley .
Reason 2 Keeping bees can be an ideal way to enthuse our younger generation (with the right protection) about the miracles of nature, to understand the importance of the living world and the cycles of life within their own gardens and let them feel they are taking positive steps towards helping the environment.
Reason 3. Enjoy a parent and child bonding day. Come together, acquire some carpentery skills and Build Your Own Beehive to take home and proudly set up in your own garden (please note: bringing kids is not compulsory and please only do so if they want to come!).
4 Save yourself some money by harvesting your own honey - it is the only food that lasts forever- it must be good for you.
5 The intricate and sophisticated workings of the bee colony are fascinating and beekeeping is apparently quite addictive. The longer one keeps bees for, the more you realise how little we know about them and the secrets of the colony.
6. You can harvest the wax, make your own candles (we run courses here), lip balm and furniture polish etc
7. Collect the propolis - a natural antiseptic said to have many uses.
8. Royal Jelly is known to have amazing medicinal properties that are coveted by so many, apparently giving eternal youth!
Honey was found in the tomb of the Pharoh Tutankhamun it had not spoiled in over 5000 years. Einstein is attributed with predicting that if the food pollinating world bee population disappeared- mankind would have just 4 years to live.
Beginners' Beekeeping Weekend Courses
16 hours inc -practical
£175
Sat 31st Mar - Sun 1st April or Sat 14th Sun - 15th April
price includes lovely 2 course lunch etc
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Courses for
Easter 2012
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Build Your Own Bee Hive Day
Sun 13th May ( or Sat 12 Ma)y
suitable for parent/ child over 14
£215 for day inc hive and all refreshments/ 2 course lunch for one
add 2nd person for £20
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Bee Friendly Natural Beekeeping Dr David Heaf
Fri 6th April
£105 per day or £80 if an extension to 2
day weekend course
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Beekeeping for Beginners 16 hr weekend Course (Easter)
This 16 hour course including practical experience and run over two days is designed to equip people to keep their own bees at home. It is run along lines of BBKA courses though with an accent on minimal use of chemicals where possible. This type of beekeeping generally uses Frame National Hives or similar and is run by Neil Cruickshank of the BBKA Penrith Group
£175 per weekend inc all refreshments and lunch each day . . .. 12 people max
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Beekeeping for Beginners
2 Weekend Courses
16 hrs each
Sat 31st Mar-Sun 1st April
or
Sat 14th Sun 15th April
Neil Cruickshank has been Beekeeping
for many years and has some 12 hives throughout
the Eden Valley in a variety of locations.
He gardens organically and could be categorised
as a conventional beekeeper with 'natural leanings'
who strives towards a minimal use of chemicals in
upholding the health and constitution of the colony |
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Over these weekends it is hoped you will
have enough theory to
become a self reliant beekeeper –
weather and bees permitting
there will be time for you to explore the hives
and handle the frames enough to become familiar
with the various larval cells, grubs
(queen, worker and drone)
look for the queen and understand the inner
workings of the hive
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Learn how to encourage creation of a new queen, understand why bees swarm, when it tends to happen, ways to discourage and ways to catch a swarm and various practices that people use to reduce swarming.
When a hive may be full and how much space is needed create a new colony or how to join colonies.
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Understanding bee health and how to identify problems, infestations and poor colony health,
The theoretical aspects of the course wil include
learning about the life cycle of the bee, the divisions
of labour within the hive, the different classes of bee,
different food sources, ways to plant for bees,
their foraging habits, pollen collection and honey
production from nectar.
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In addition to this Neil will cover the most important tasks of the Beekeeping Year including:
Introduction the Beehive, the types of hives to buy, where to site your hive for optimum bee happiness! , where to source equipment and how to source / find/ order your first bees, the problems of stings and their treatment, the public and consultation of neighbours and friends. The bees enemies. Disease control. Variations of colony needs between spring and summer. Collection of honey and winter. Introduction to the British Beekeepers Association and the National Bee Unit. Insurance considerations. The important 5 inspection point s of a colony
This Beekeeping Course is taught along the BBKA guidlelines - for those who have a tendency towards a more biodynamic natural approach you might consider attending instead or combining it with a day with David Heaf on Bee Friendly BeeKeeping on Good Friday.
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What is 'Natural' or 'Bee Friendly Beekeeping'?
Natural Bee Keeping is a less time consuming, small-scale, low cost, biodynamic, sustainable, chemical-free, low-impact and organic way of keeping bees. . . . .it is perfect for those who would like to keep bees and do their bit for the environment, with honey as a bonus. It requires less equipment, less cost and less time than current frame beekeeping method.
Very recent controversy over 'Bee Friendly' insecticides that are in fact deadly to bees - and may account for the sudden collapse of many bee colonies world wide - has led more people to question current practices and look back to methods used early last century when often every household with a garden kept bees as a matter of course.- using a top bar hive.
The Warré top bar Hive the is one of the oldest and simplest types of beehive box -needing little skill and few tools to build ( We are holding Warré, Hive Building Workshops in Easter and Summer holidays for Lads and Dads/ parent and child/ individuals ) doing just this - see below .These hives are simple, effective and apparently a maneagable way of keeping bees.
This does not mean that one cannot keep bees in a relaitvely chemical free way with tradfitional hive types. However costs are greater, there are space/storage issues and more lifting weight implcations with traditional hives There are also further in depth considerations in hive type and management
We are extremely fortunate to have top scientist Dr David Heaf , the guest speaker at the inaugural Natural BeeKeeping Conference 2011 to be visiting Greystoke again on Good Friday 2012. As a scientist that has come from the Conventional Beekeeping beginnings , he present his case for the top bar natural beekeeping lobby and will share his time served wisdom to help people consider the arguments for this approach.
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Bee-friendly Beekeeping . . . .A Beginners Course in Natural Beekeeping with Dr David Heaf
Long Day Course - 9 hour - Dr David Heaf - A single day course (or extension) for those interested in learning more about this alternative approach. Having had the informed grounding of a BBKA type course some might welcome the opportunity to learn about Bee Friendly approach to Beekeeping that is becoming more and more popular. Bee friendly beekeeping places the accent on keeping bees for just that reason and less on the need for Honey extraction from the hive. Honey is considered bonus rathe than a pre-requisite. Top Bar Hives that emulate the spaces that wild bee colonies often select are favoured in this approach.
Course Cost including 2 course lunch and all refreshments Single day £105 ( When booked as a 3rd extension day to a weekend course - £80)
Some considerations
Beekeeping using the traditional picture book hives has been popular since the mid 20th century. It can be expensive to get started, may require space to store associated paraphernaliaand each unit hive has a weight often in excess of 50lbs -this means moving hives is a job,
often requiring 2 people!
The Warré top bar Hive the is one of the oldest and simplest types of beehive box, they provide a simple, effective and maneagable way of keeping bees for an individual, apparently even by someone
in a wheelchair. |
Bee-friendly Beekeeping
Beginners Course
with
Dr David Heaf
Friday April 6th (Good Friday)
This course is suitable for those considering taking up beekeeping and also existing beekeepers interested in making a transition to a more natural form of beekeeping.
The course will cover some basic bee biology and behaviour and look what happens in the life cycle of a feral /wild colony.
An examination of the compromises beekeepers make in putting colonies in hives will allow us to compare 'hives for bees' & 'hives for beekeepers'.
The People's Hive of Abbé Émile Warré, selected from amongst the more 'bee-appropriate' hives, will be the focus of the practical aspect of the course.
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Warré Hives are available online
if you' d rather buy, for example
http://www.edenbeehives.co.uk
provide hives ready built or in kit form using
local English Cedar Its a good start on the road to being sustainable and they are simple to use
There will be some other start up costs as well
You will need a hat, a veil , some gloves and an old white shirt
plus the blessing of those you live with .
In addition some suitably bee friendly flowering
plants in your neighbourhood.
Often Urban areas can be more suitable
thanks to our nations love of gardening- sometimes the rural landscape is bland, intensively farmed and very un bee friendly .
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The course will examine its construction, populating it with bees and managing it throughout the year.
Beekeeper intervention will cover feeding, harvesting honey, wintering, swarming, Varroa, and the options for raising additional colonies and queens.
Beekeeping has social, economic
and environmental implications:
we shall keep these sustainability themes in mind throughout
the course.
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You will learn all that is neccesary during this day
to keep your own bees, where to get them from, to buy
or to catch a swarm.
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These days will include examination of hives
on site / weather and bees permitting
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If you have access to protective clothing (veil, bee jacket or suit), please bring it with you. Trousers, washing up gloves (e.g. Marigolds) and wellies to protect ankles are also advisable.
A limited number of veils will be available."
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'Lads and Dads**
'Build Your Own Bee Hive Day ..Workshop £215 per hive for 1st person ....if 2nd person helping add £20 for their food / drinks etc
**although not exclusively ...this day is suitable for any responsible adult and child between 10 and 18 to partake in and share in a single hive construction - alternatively an individual can build a hive . In order to keep costs down the day has been priced to include food and drinks for one adult only - at the time of booking you can order a second if reqd .
There will be beehive in the grounds of the Cycle Cafe-
although being spring, hive activity depends on
ambient temperatures .
PLEASE NOTE:
YOU WILL BE USING HAND AND POWER TOOLS
UNDER SUPERVISION,
BUT THIS IS AT YOUR OWN
RISK.
When you leave you should take with you a ready to use
fully functional Warré
hive, all ready for bees.
The hive built during the workshop will contain
4 boxes, the picture shows a 3 box hive.
Each box will have a glass inspection window vital to
check colony health and comb building
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Sat 12th or Sunday 13th May 2012
This is a day workshop where you will
under
supervision, make your own
Warré style beehive.
LADS and DADS?
The day is a perfect opportunity for
Fathers and Sons to work together and
make something worthwhile, however any responsible adult child combination is posisble and also just an adult .
There will up to 8 hives being built along with 2 tutors .
A hive style most advocated by
natural beekeepers it represent
a 'Beehive for Bees'
rather than for beekeepers.
The Warré hive is a top-bar
beehive which
differs from a conventional hive mainly in
that the bees are
encouraged to build their
own comb vertically downwards from plain bars
rather
than in removeable wooden frames
as in a conventional hive.
Building their own honeycomb entirely , as they do in the wild, reduces the incidence of any potential wax borne challenges to a bee health, systemic or residual being passed from generation to generation through the wax.
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- Neil built this for the Cafe garden as a prototype
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Using beautiful ENGLISH CEDAR
considered one of the best woods for bees.
Why Cedar Makes A Better Beehive
Cedar does not absorb moisture from the air
in the way other softwoods do.
Drier wood feels warmer, is less heat conductive
(insulates better) and is less likely to have
condensation develop on it.
Cedar is lighter weight than other soft woods.
It is more weather resistant and stable and does
not require the protection of paint.
Painting is expensive and time consuming and
painted hives trap moisture.
Cedar naturally resists attacks from most insects.
Bees seem to be more attracted to the smell of cedar than other woods.
Alternatively you can buy a hive from Neil on
http://www.edenbeehives.co.uk
either delivered in kit from or ready built |
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You will need to bring with you a claw hammer, a sharp panel
saw , safety glasses and gloves. We may ask you to bring
additional items - you will be emailed directly upon booking .
All other tools will be provided on the day.
Materials: we will provide all the timber to make your hive.
Neil has managed t source some wonderful English Cedar This is sourced very locally and is beautiful wood.
Other materials such as stainless steel screws,
windows, glue etc will be provided.
Material Costs per hive are included in the price.
Warre hives can be bought online for between
£170 and £350 - all of the examples we have seen are
of PINE construction -
ours is English Cedar and would be worth a lot more
- it requires little if any treatment and will last and last. |
Warré hives are simpler and cheaper to construct
than conventional hives, they require less equipment and can be more easily managed by an individual.
Natural beekeeping is a biodynamic approach,
honey extraction from the hive is limited to times of
surplus in spring ,
Allowing bees to overwinter on their own honey
as opposed to standard current practices of
autumn honey removal and
replacement with man made refined sugar
solutions for overwintering.
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During the workshop we will:
- Discuss beekeeping and the various methods available
- Discuss the needs of bees in all respects
- Look at the plans to build 4 box . Warré style hive
- Working in pairs or alone, prepare the timber required.
- THIS WILL INVOLVE RELATIVELY SIMPLE DIY SKILLS.
- Build the hive floors, chambers, quilt and lid
- Install top bars in the hives, discuss how the bees will make their honeycomb in the hive
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Neil Cruickshank is a Cumbrian beekeeper
and is a member
of the BBKA
(British Beekeepers Association).
He has apiaries in the Eden Valley
and produces
honey and
wax products from his hives.
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Neil has many years of experience as a
teacher and
instructor in the outdoors.
He is also a woodworker and has his own
workshop
producing furniture and beehives.
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'Introduction to Honey bees and their care encompassing the Biodynamic Perspective -
The Marvel of Colony Life' with Heidi Herrmann, a co founder of the naturalbeekeepingtrust.org ...... Date TBC
Please note
that this course is designed to enable participants to arrive at an
informed choice regarding the issues surrounding bees and beekeeping - it is not a beekeeping course.
It is therefore perfect for existing beekeepers keen to learn more and presents a real opportunity to ask questions to the advocators of this biodynamic organic approach .
To those considering keeping bees this day will help you decide whether you d like to progress further to the full beekeeping course and arrive at the approach you wish to adopt when keeping bees All issues will be addressed. You could combine this course with a full Bee Keeping course either here or elsewhere and come to your own conclusions of hive management and pinciples.
There will be bees on site that may be examined during the day, weather bees and time permitting
Please note
that this course is designed to
enable participants to arrive at an
informed
choice regarding the issues surrounding
bees and beekeeping -
it is not a beekeeping course, but rather a preparation for a
beekeeping course. |
'Introduction to Honey bees and their Care'
This popular day course provides a
basic introduction from our biodynamic perspective
to the
nature and needs of bee colonies
and makes the case for sustainable
beekeeping practice.
We shall spend most of the day looking in detail at the life of
a
bee colony through the year.
What do bee colonies need to remain
strong and healthy in the context of challenging environmental
conditions.
What does bee-guardianship involve and how can we meet the
needs of the bees through bee-friendly husbandry?
How to help the bees
without becoming a beekeeper,
bee-friendly gardening etc.
The
fundamental concepts of biodynamic/ natural beekeeping
will be
explored with reference to the Guidelines
developed by the Natural
Beekeeping Trust. |
(All photos on this page reproduced with kind permission of
Heidi Hermann of naturalbeekeepingtrust.org)
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We would encourage anyone starting with bees to seriously consider
training in natural beekeeping, which is invariably grounded in an
attitude of respect for the natural world and its most important and
vital representative, the honeybee.
The Trust is indebted to the work of Dr Rudolf Steiner, and inspired by his insight into the nature and importance of bees.
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A Plum blossom being visited -
the pale sack attached to the leg is actually a full pollen basket - how ingenious !
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The Natural Beekeeping Trust aims to promote awareness
of
sustainable beekeeping which is strongly orientated by
the essential
nature and needs of the bees.
The founders of the Trust believe that
encouraging
bee guardianship as well as fostering an interest in
organic/biodynamic agriculture and gardening
will make a major
contribution to ensuring the
long term health of the honeybee.
Husbandry approaches advocated by the Trust are based
on allowing
bees to express their instincts fully through
swarming, presence of
drones, overwintering on honey
as well as taking due care to support
colonies’
brood nest warmth maintenance
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“Not a single bee has ever sent you an invoice. And that is
part of the problem – because most of what comes to us from nature is
free, because it is not invoiced, because it is not priced, because it
is not traded in markets, we tend to ignore it.”
Pavan Sukhdev, author of UN report The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity – October 2010
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Respecting the bees’ need to keep their brood nest at a constant
temperature is one of the cornerstones of natural beekeeping, and from
this it may be inferred that routine inspections of the nest are not
advocated.
This, however, does not equate with ‘leave-alone’
beekeeping as observational skills must be developed to a high degree
in order to monitor colony health.
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Dandelion pollen -
A great source of pollen for the bees- note
the pink red pollen basket it is carrying !
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Beeswax Bonanza- from Hive to Hand ....with Neil Cruikshank
Date TBC
Saturday 11th June 2011
Wed 16th November 2011
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This one day workshop will take you through the fascinating process of taking wax comb straight from a beehive, extracting the wax using either steam or solar methods and then using the wax to make a variety of beautifully scented items - candles, balms, polishes and mouldings.
During your day you will:
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Neil Cruickshank is a Cumbrian beekeeper
and is a member of the BBKA
(British Beekeepers Association).
He has apiaries in the Eden valley and produces honey and wax products from his hives.
He has many years of experience as a teacher and instructor in the outdoors.
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The day is suitable for anyone and certainly no previous experience is necessary. Just come with an open mind and a sense of adventure!
Everything is provided though if you yourself are a beekeeper do bring along old wax for use on the day.
Wear old clothes in case of waxy spills.
There will be materials charge payable directly to the tutor at the end depending on how much you take away – possibly it may be around £10 per person. .
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Please note:
We will be using vegetable based oils and essential oils that some people may be allergic to.
Please ask us if you think you may fall into this category.
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