Have you ever wondered what an impact taking on a hobby like beekeeping would have? Well, here’s your chance – now is the time when we should all be thinking about how to spend our time more constructively and see what we can do to help make the world a better place to live in . . .beekeeping is surely a no-brainer.
Everyone in Newton Aycliffe must now be fully aware of our Beekeeping Association: ABKA. We are now fully established with nearly 100 members and a teaching apiary at the St. Oswald’s allotments. We also have the full backing of the Great Aycliffe Town Council and our regular meetings take place at the OakLeaf Sports Complex where we can even get a meal and a pint. Our watchwords are ‘friendly, informal and helpful’, so we are always ready to welcome new faces with open arms.
How do people get into beekeeping? The first stage is to join a nice, friendly association. We are affiliated to the British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA), which is the national governing body. Once enrolled, members can take advantage of a wide range of amenities including a full training programme leading to a qualification which enables you to keep bees.
Strangely, there are few restrictions to looking after bees, which can be located virtually anywhere, provided your neighbours don’t object and children and pets can be controlled safely. Urban beekeeping is certainly on the rise – often we find that honey bees have better foraging options than their country cousins who often find food difficult to come by and it is very often seasonal. Just about anybody can keep bees provided they are serious, conscientious and well prepared.
Our association routinely provides courses for beginners each year, usually in the Spring (over a weekend) and sometimes in the Autumn too, if there is the demand. This is a course based on facts recommended by the BBKA and involves a mixture of classroom-based tuition/seminars and practical work with the bees at the apiary. If you are interested in attending one of our courses please contact our education officer, Tony Lamb by email:
training.aycliffebka@gmail.com or you can call him for an informal chat: 07905 190701 anytime.
If you would like to know a little more about what we do, you can always go to our website:
www.aycliffebees.com
We guarantee you’ll get a real BUZZ out of it!