Sunday, 8 March 2009

Central Beekeepers Alliance

Central Beekeepers Alliance

Adventures in Beekeeping - from the Beginning

Posted: 07 Mar 2009 11:46 AM PST

This year I will become a beekeeper and I am so excited. It is a completely new experience as I’ve only ever read or talked about bees. Since joining the local beekeeping group (CBA) last May, I have discovered a charming hobby and a wonderful group of beekeepers. Most people that keep honeybees seem to do it for the pure joy of it and maybe for a little honey and pollination.

Prior to joining the group, I’d heard stories of honeybee colonies collapsing (CCD) around the world and became quite concerned that a tiny little creature, who pollinates and makes honey, could quite possibly be encountering its greatest challenge — survival! Sadly, I knew so little about them and have no idea how I could help. I’ve learned — I’m not the only person wondering where to start.

Luckily, a few friends became beekeepers in the past couple of years. They are both members in the CBA and encouraged me to attend a meeting, which is the same advice many books offer if you are interested in beekeeping. My next step was attending a meeting.

As I approached the entrance to the meeting, I was greeted by a friendly man who guided me in and introduced me to several other beekeepers. I don’t remember much about my first meeting except there were quite a few people in attendance and I volunteered to help out at the next public show in Harvey. At the show, I got to see honeybees for the first time in an observation hive. My friend, her mother and aunt were tending the booth and patiently answered questions from the curious crowds (and me). Watching the bees was a treat for all; while the poor girls had to stay close to each other for warmth — it was a cool day in April.

At the next meeting my good fortune continued because the guest speaker that evening was the provincial NB Beekeepers Association’s President Paul Vautour. He spoke of overwhelming losses to the bee colonies and the priorities and approaches to combat the the many challenges facing beekeeping. Most of what he discussed was beyond my experience but I tried to keep up, diseases, insurance, research, Apiary Act… oh no… but then Paul ventured into a topic that struck a chord. He glowed when he spoke of the Central Beekeepers Alliance and their success with recruiting new beekeepers and maintaining an active community interest in beekeeping. This was a sign of hope for him. They were attracting new beekeepers and creating continuity for an ancient hobby and profession.

At that point I decided I wanted in, this experience is for me. Although, I joined the club in Spring, I felt that I had a few too many personal and work commitments coming up through the summer so I decided to learn about bees first and welcome them home in 2009.

A Bee Book for BeginnersI went to the library and checked out Beekeeping for Dummies which offers step-by-step introductions to beekeeping; even though the name isn’t that appealing, the pictures and information help. One bee book I highly recommend is Keeping Bees: a Complete Practical Guide by Paul Peacock. Other reads include Hivelights, a Canadian magazine, and Bee Culture, an American magazine that is stocked at our local library. It has a wide variety of information that keeps experienced and new-to-the-experience beekeepers interested. Also, the CBA site is a fount of information from bee gardens to public speakers discussing the latest on honeybee research. It is always nice to see beekeepers interact with each other and the community.

Welcome to my adventures in beekeeping! I hope you will check back in from time to time for lessons learned and the laughter they may generate. I also look forward to helpful advice! Let the learning begin….

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