Zoom Gardening for Bees and Wildlife

Our insects and wildlife are suffering severe declines, but gardening and getting outside is the perfect opportunity to learn how we can help our bees and other insects and wildlife in these valuable spaces. If you’re already a beekeeper and would like to know how best to increase the natural forage and biodiversity for your bees, this course covers this often-neglected part of honey bee husbandry.

This Zoom course will have low numbers so individual garden situations can be shared and we can properly discuss what best to do depending on where you are and what you want from your garden or outdoor space.

All bees need both pollen and nectar, so we will look at how we can incorporate the most favourable plants into our existing outdoor spaces, and look at plants which give the most numerous benefits. Understanding the relationship between bees and flowers is important if we are going to maximise the efficacy of what we have on offer, and there will be some surprises given the misinformation and confusion surrounding pollinators.

On this course, we will cover the following topics:

• why our bees and insects need our help
• which bees need which forage
• the bee annual cycle: the how and when of bee feeding across the species
• where to plant to help bees feed effectively
• free plants: identifying the best ones you may already have
• sourcing plants sustainably for a pollinator-friendly garden
• low-maintenance options for large-scale bee food
• local surrounds: what else is out there for bees?
• bee hotels, bug boxes, hibernacula and other habitat: which work?
• how to ensure your hives have enough food through the year

The course costs £20 for the 1.5 hour live online session, and the Zoom link will be emailed to you beforehand. The course runs on the following dates on Tuesdays from 7.30-9pm:

• 16th March
• 30th March
• 13th April
• 27th April
• 11th May
• 25th May
• 15th June
• 29th June
• 6th July
• 20th July