Sustainable beekeeping, chickens, and cake
It was set to be a scorcher for West Rise Junior School's annual Bee Fest: a celebration of the Bee Sanctuary and a chance for a mass Forest School session on the Marsh. This year, as well as the original Warré and newly-occupied top bar bee hives, there is now the Reptile Sanctuary adjacent to … Continue reading Bee Fest 2019
The Thermosolar bees have been in their hive a couple of weeks and I wanted to make sure they had settled in. They were very active, and not very pleased to see me! I didn't have my smoker so I might have to use that next time - the smoke distracts them and masks any … Continue reading Thermosolar update
Today I went to visit the Knockhatch Adventure Park bees to see how they were getting on, and to check if any of the bait boxes were occupied. As I walked past on my way to the Wildlife Area, the bees in the oak tree were flying well in the sunshine: https://videopress.com/v/ZXw7aCEt The swarm we … Continue reading Knockhatch update
We've had a beautiful couple of weeks here in Sussex, and I was wondering how my bees were doing. We have had a distinctly unbeautiful patch of weather during June and I was appalled to see on Twitter that many people's colonies had starved, having been caught short following the removal of a spring crop … Continue reading Apiary Update
Another hot day - this time at the Solar Farm at Berwick. Yesterday evening I had taken the bees down to the site, ready to be transferred this morning. Travelling at night is easier as it means the bees are kept cool, and they settle overnight ready to head out and orient to their new … Continue reading Thermosolar Bees
It was a hot and sultry afternoon to meet at the Marsh to discuss hedgerow plans, and how to integrate the various demands on the site in a sympathetic and unified manner. Paul and I met with Mike Fairclough, the Head of West Rise Junior School; Virginia Pullen, Chief Landscape Architect for East Sussex County … Continue reading An afternoon at the School Apiary
On Saturday I have my first Sketching Chickens in the Garden course, which I realise might seem like an odd course to offer. Here, I'd like to explain why it's a fantastic way to start, rekindle, or improve your drawing skills, and also what the course entails. Drawing - indeed any art - is a … Continue reading Why draw chickens?
If you have recently acquired some bees for your new hive, you might be wondering how and when to check them. The books will tell you various things, but the balance is about familiarising yourself with handling bees, and allowing the colony to settle and get on with the essential task of building wax and … Continue reading Checking your new bees
It was a beautiful, sunny, breezy day yesterday, perfect for the delivery of the Thermosolar hives from Devon to the solar farm at Berwick by Nick Oldridge, from The Naturesave Trust. Tom Worsley of Thermosolar came along to set them up and give me a quick run through on their operation and management. Sarah and … Continue reading Thermosolar Hive Installation
Following on from my previous post... Yesterday I was contacted by a site worker from East Sussex Highways about removing the panel from the street lamp so that I could access the bees inside. We met underneath the lamp (although that's where the similarity with Narnia ends), and after a few deft stabs with a … Continue reading The Street Lamp Bees