FREE Beekeeping courses!

2 hour taster sessions for new aspiring beekeepers which cover beekeeping basics, allowing you to meet bees and learn about the fundamentals of beekeeping.

.Thurs 26th April 2012 Wood Lane 10.30am - 12.30pm & 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Friday 27th April 2012 Norfolk Park 10.30am - 12.30pm & 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Friday 4th May 2012 Botanical Gardens 10.30am - 12.30pm & 2.00pm - 4.00pm


3 Day Introductory Courses for beginner beekeepers which covers both the theory and practical aspects of modern beekeeping.

1st, 2nd & 3rd May 2012 Botanical Gardens
7th, 8th & 9th May 2012 Wood Lane
14th, 15th & 16th May 2012 Norfolk Park
28th, 29th & 30th May 2012 Wood Lane

all courses last from 10.00am - 4.00pm


*Please note you will be interacting with live bees.
Refreshments will not be provided and participants must bring there own wellies and marigold gloves.


To book your place, please call:
0114 263 6425 or email:
anna.cooper@groundwork.org.uk
follow the project on facebook: www.facebook.com/beebuddies

The Bee Buddies project will introduce and maintain new domestic honeybee hives in Sheffield’s urban spaces – locations like parks, allotments and rooftops. The hives will be cared for by our head beekeeper. The establishment of city centre hive sites will demonstrate that bees can thrive in an urban environment, and h.elp to encourage the uptake of beekeeping amongst city residents. The project addresses the dramatic decline in UK honey bee numbers - 33% of honeybee colonies were lost last year

I love bees, I used to live in a house with an orchard and the former owner was a bee keeper, seeing the apple trees in May was a fantastic sight. If I lived there now I would do this but where I am there are hardly any trees let alone apple trees which blossom, I don't have any bee friendly flowers in my garden despite trying as it's so windy up here :(

send more details interested in norfolk park one

The free bee keeping courses sound great. Going to get the diary out

I just got back from the bee keeping course- it was great. We had about an hour in the "classroom" which gave some back ground into the biology of bees, , their habits etc and we looked at the insides of a hive indoors (no bees).
Then we donned the suits went outside and looked at hives with bees in them. I can now tell a drone from a worker!

Only one person got stung (my sister) but as it was through her marigold glove it wasn't painful. It did make her more wary though and when another bee clung onto her glove she retreated to the back of the group away from the hive :(.

The tutor was good (Bill Cadmoor Chairman of Yorkshire Bee Keeping Society). It has inspired me to go on the 3 day course with a view to getting my own hive in the future, even though I don't like honey! :hihi:

The project addresses the dramatic decline in UK honey bee numbers - 33% of honeybee colonies were lost last year
Can you tell me where you got this figure from, all the beekeepers I know have not lost 33% if any. I didn't lose any bees over the winter, althought with with the weather we are having at the moment there could be some losses. So if you have bees at the moment heft the hives they may need feeding with a light syrup.

PS. If you do decide to keep bees join a local association.

I LOVE BEE'S - But I am very wary of them.

I left some Bumble Bee's that nested on my plot last year under an old carpet that I had covered in soil. I have not seen any near it this year, does anyone know if they are still there or will be back ?

I would go on the free course but only to try get familiar with them, not to start up Bee keeping.

Pity the courses are only open to residents of Sheffield...... :(

Would like to see them run in other area....

Honey bees are the only bees that hibernate over the winter, the Queen bee from the colony under your carpet may have survived, but the others won't have.

I LOVE BEE'S - But I am very wary of them.

I left some Bumble Bee's that nested on my plot last year under an old carpet that I had covered in soil. I have not seen any near it this year, does anyone know if they are still there or will be back ?

I would go on the free course but only to try get familiar with them, not to start up Bee keeping.

I LOVE BEE'S - But I am very wary of them.
Bumble Bee's are not honey bees, they have small nests of a few hundred bees, honey bees have between 20,000 and 60,000 in a full hive.
Honey bees are the only bees that hibernate over the winter
Honey bees Don't hibernate over winter, they stay awake and active, that's why they store honey as winter fuel, on a bright winters day they will be out flying and pooing. Most of the bees die off before the winter leaving a small hive to over winter with 'winter bees' in the hive. These bees have to survive for 5months or more and are special. Most summer bees last upto 6 weeks.
Queen Bumble bees do hibernate and are the first to come out from the winter rest.

It's a shame that non of these courses are on a weekend or on an evening when people who work during the day could attend :(

You shouldn't open bee hives in the evenings as the hive needs to be kept at around 30degrees to keep the brood warm and the bees would chill if opened up late in the day. But yes, they should have weekend sessions.

You shouldn't open bee hives in the evenings as the hive needs to be kept at around 30degrees to keep the brood warm and the bees would chill if opened up late in the day. But yes, they should have weekend sessions.

Ah, fair enough re evening sessions, but weekend sessions would be great.

I went on a beekeeping course at Woolley College near Wakefield. The course was one evening a week over about 6 weeks. At the end of your course you got a hive a bees, the cost of the course then was about 85.00. I think it was organised by the the eiether the Yorkshire or Wakefield beekeepers association. I think the South Riding Beekeepers association may also do something similar.

The South Riding Beekeepers Ass is now the Rotherham Beekeeper Associations RBKA. They have a website.

Beekeeping is getting popular! http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/business/sheffield-women-answer-call-to-be-queen-bee-1-4537448

Hi

I got the stats from a article wirten by the British Beekeeping Association.

All the courses are fully booked but we are offering some private courses but these are chargable.

If you would like more details on these please email

anna.cooper@groundwork.org.uk
Thanks