We ran a half day beekeeping taster course at Camley Street this morning.  It was funded by the Co-operative Group and was for people who tried to get onto the summer course but were unsuccessful. It was intended to give some initial knowledge about beekeeping and was modelled on the 1 day beginners’ course we run in Battersea, south London. Around 20 people turned up and they all seemed to learn a lot.

Three hours isn’t long to give people a flavour or what beekeeping entails – but they went away knowing more about how a colony works, what’s in a hive, and the many things you need to consider when taking up beekeeping.

Ann, who comes along on a Tuesday night for the summer C0-op course we teach, popped in to give participants a first-hand account of what it’s like to be a new beekeeper. “You get very attached to your bees,” she told them. Do you talk to your bees? asked one. “Yes, she replied. “I even sing to them.”

Urban Bees has been training Lynne at the Museum of London. Here is a link to her blog.

http://www.mymuseumoflondon.org.uk/blogs/blog/dairy-of-a-museum-of-london-beekeeper/

The 20 new beekeepers sponsored by the Co-operative’s Plan Bee campaign and trained by Urban Bees Ltd have just reaped the rewards of the bees’ efforts over this summer by harvesting over 50 lbs of glorious honey.