New beekeepers are welcomed into the fold on a day that features classroom-based education, hands-on training and plenty of cake.
by Robbie Baird, North Dorset Beekeepers

Spring is a time of new beginnings and hope. Now that the clocks have changed and we’ve all recovered from that missing hour of sleep, we can look forward to the natural world reawakening from its winter slumber. As I’m writing this at the beginning of April, the snowdrops have finished flowering, the daffodils are in full bloom and the flowering currant (Ribes) is showing its pink colours.

The flowering currant is an important indicator to all beekeepers – the arrival of its flowers means that progress into spring is sufficient to open up the hives and check how our bee colonies are doing after the long winter. Not all honey bee colonies will have made it through the winter. In fact, for all sorts of reasons, between 20% and 40% will have succumbed to the effects of winter. But for those that have survived, it’s time to get going. The queen starts laying eggs again and colony numbers increase, in a race that may lead to a swarm in early summer as one colony becomes two. It’s an exciting time!

And it’s an exciting time not only for existing beekeepers, but for new beekeepers too.

The start of the Beginners Course at North Dorset Beekeepers is planned to coincide with the beginning of the honey bee’s active season, and so some 35 people of all ages and walks of life converged on Shillingstone on Saturday, April 1, ready to start learning about the craft of beekeeping and the life of the honey bee. They were met by almost as many members of the Association – everyone eager to make our future beekeepers feel welcome!

The first day at Bee School is a bit of an open day. Only 25 of those present had managed to secure a place on the course itself. The other ten were able to join in today to see if beekeeping is for them. Maybe most will sign up for next year? Everyone was introduced to their tutors as they arrived and met the other four beginners in their group – people who will probably become friends, brought together through a common interest in the natural world and beekeeping.

So, who are these trainee beekeepers and what makes them want to learn about the honey bee?

I spoke with a number of them and to say it’s a broad church would be an understatement! And looking at the list of names, it was obvious that family origins extended well beyond Dorset – Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands to name but three. And it’s never too young to start – Elijah was the youngest. He came along with his Grandad and will be 10 years old on his next birthday. For some, the course was a gift from a loved one – a daughter to her father and for one newly-married couple, it was a wedding gift from husband to wife. Now they’re both doing the course together. We were pleased to welcome two employees from Ashmore Estate Farm. They’ll be taking their learning back, ready to make the honey bee a bigger part of the great work that gets done there. For others, taking up beekeeping seemed like the natural thing to do – a lifetime’s fascination with insects and the natural world made them think about beekeeping. Many have family or friends who are already beekeepers or have fond memories of grandparent beekeepers where the craft has skipped a generation and now it’s time to rekindle the tradition. One even said he’d signed up for the course after reading these beekeeping articles in your New Blackmore Vale magazine!

The day is a mix of education about the Honey Bee, and time spent at the beehives. Everyone gets into a bee suit and has a chance to see the bees at work close up, as each group opens up a hive to see what’s going on inside. With so much rain around, we were lucky that it stopped just in time. It would have been a shame if the highlight of the day had to be moved to another occasion. In the event, it all worked out just fine and it looked like everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves… including the vast array of cakes at tea time. Cake and beekeeping are inseparable!

People who keep bees without learning how to do it properly can cause disease and hardship. Good beekeepers are those who have been trained, and those on the Beekeeping Beginners Course will learn how to look after their bees successfully. By August, they will be able to take ownership of their own bees, manage them through the peak summer period and prepare them for the cold and wet of winter.

Although this year’s course is fully subscribed, you can always put your name down for next year. And if all of that seems too far away, we’re holding four “Bee Experience Days” in June and July. They’ll give you a taste of beekeeping and we’ll open up some of the hives to let you see what’s going on inside. You can find out more and make a booking at www.tickettailor.com/events/northdorsetbka.