It’s all about the Bees!

On World Bee Day, Billy Bottom is bursting back with our first blog for a while.

We have been as busy as bees over this Spring learning about the plants and wildlife that inhabit Billy Bottom whilst at the same time spending time with Stuart and Eleanor helping look after their beehives and beginning to understand how much continual learning, fun, planning, work, rewards and frustrations can be experienced by beekeeping. It’s a continual farming roller-coaster but totally addictive.

Bees play a vital role and have an impact on the environment by acting as pollinators, which is essential for the reproduction of a vast majority of plants, including both wild and cultivated species. This pollination contributes to biodiversity, food security, and the overall health of our ecosystems. The importance of the younger generation learning how to work with our ‘Bee team’ and help restore balance to our agroecology has never been more important.

All areas of the UK have British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) groups offering support, resources, and hands on advice for anyone wishing to consider helping our bee population whilst enjoying the health benefits of eating their own honey plus the many crafts opportunities extracting and using the beeswax presents.

I have had so much fun so far, this blog photo shows my learnings from looking at a section of a brood frame and identifying different aspects plus I have tried extracting wax, making candles, making mead, soap is next. I have also enjoyed eating honey straight from the honeycomb, yes, I felt like Pooh Bear LOL.

Please be encouraged to investigate the rewards of being involved with either a group, community farm or as an individual beekeeper, see our Billy Bottom Instagram World Bee Day post at: https://www.instagram.com/billy.bottom/ to view some pictures of the fun we’ve had.

Until the next time...