COVENTRY BRANCH NEWS – April 2023
The first Branch Apiary Meeting was held on 15th April and, in true, beekeeping style, the first thing that happened was that the kettle went on! There were about a dozen members present and it was good to see a mixture of novice and experienced members attending. The weather was dry but rather cool, and it was decided that it was rather too cold to open the hives. There were plenty of other jobs to keep everyone occupied with frame making, hedge trimming and general tiding up of the site accomplished in short order. Many hands do really make light work, and there was plenty of time for more tea and Lesley’s delicious banana cake, plus lots of bee talk.
The next Branch Apiary meeting is scheduled for Sunday 21st May. It’s great to find that there are a record number of Coventry Branch members entering for various BBKA assessments and exams this year, including the Basic Certificate, Honey Bee Health Certificate, Advanced Husbandry Assessment and the Microscopy Assessment. This is testament to the hard work of Dave Bonner and the rest of the Coventry Committee in developing our training apiary and giving their time to put on training events for members. Studying for assessments or exams is beneficial to both the health and welfare of the bees in our care and the enjoyment of beekeeping as a hobby – when you have a good understanding of beekeeping you can avoid most of the mistakes and pitfalls that can make your season frustrating or costly. If anyone is interested in doing any type of BBKA assessment or examination and would like help with this, please contact Dave Bonner in the first instance cbka.membership@wbka.org.uk
Julia Barclay
DIARY DATES – COVENTRY
21/05/2023 @ 2pm – Branch Apiary Meeting. London Road Allotments,
Humber Road, Coventry, CV3 4AR