So you’ve been keeping bees a couple of years what’s next?
Passing your BBKA ‘basic’ is a great achievement, you can feel confident in the knowledge that you knew more than you thought! It can just be “the beginning of a journey” to learning and understanding more about these amazing creatures. The more you experience and learn the greater your confidence becomes.
So don’t stop there …
Now is a good time to think about what you’d like to do or achieve e.g. understand how to find an unmarked queen and learn to confidently mark and clip her, practice other methods of swarm control, complete a shook swarm, maximise your honey crop to name just a few. Your lsit may be shorter or longer but it’s good to start somewhere and the teaching apiary is just the place to do it. If you would like help making your ‘list’ just ask any committee member or group leader.
With 5 apiary groups, it’s your chance to ask all those questions, work on your list, practice tasks and improve your confidence in a fun and informative way, and then maybe try them in your home apiary. Each group may have different jobs to do so check out the ‘blackboard’ which lists what each group will be doing for that session. You can join a different group every week or follow a group through the season, the choice is yours. The apiary is flexible so if there is something specific you’d like to do, have a chat with our apiary manager or a group leader and we can work out a plan.
For those with 2/3 seasons experience, maybe consider becoming a deputy group leader. It may seem daunting (I admit I was scared!) but it nudged me into trying more things, problem solving, teaching, and improved my confidence, all with the support of a group leader. I learnt from my mistakes (and there were a lot) but the apiary and the bees are very forgiving and it was immensely enjoyable.
You may wish to consider the following training course.
With 5 apiary groups, it’s your chance to ask all those questions, work on your list, practice tasks and improve your confidence in a fun and informative way, and then maybe try them in your home apiary. Each group may have different jobs to do so check out the ‘blackboard’ which lists what each group will be doing for that session. You can join a different group every week or follow a group through the season, the choice is yours. The apiary is flexible so if there is something specific you’d like to do, have a chat with our apiary manager or a group leader and we can work out a plan.
For those with 2/3 seasons experience, maybe consider becoming a deputy group leader. It may seem daunting (I admit I was scared!) but it nudged me into trying more things, problem solving, teaching, and improved my confidence, all with the support of a group leader. I learnt from my mistakes (and there were a lot) but the apiary and the bees are very forgiving and it was immensely enjoyable.
You may wish to consider the following training course.
Microscopy Course
Ideal for beekeepers that have an interest in pollen, bee anatomy, and bee diseases. All equipment is provided.
Whatever method you chose we’ll help you find what you need.