Croydon Beekeepers, a division of the Surrey Beekeepers Association, will be holding a taster day on the 14th April for anyone interested in taking up Beekeeping as a hobby or maybe even a small commercial venture.
This full day event will be covering the basic theory of beekeeping in the morning followed by an afternoon at the hives, giving you the opportunity to observe and handle the bees.
Suffering something of a bad press, these industrious little creatures may have a sting in the tail, but they dedicate their relatively short lives (around six weeks for workers, although a Queen can live up to five years) to gathering pollen and nectar, visiting up to a hundred plants and flowers during each collection trip before returning with their spoils to the hive. The bee is the only insect that produces food eaten by humans, and although significantly associated with honey production, these creatures also supply us with Royal Jelly, Bee Propolis and Pollen... all widely used in the health and beauty industries. And beeswax has literally hundreds of uses, from candles to cosmetics to crayons!
Einstein himself is credited with theorising that the human race would die out within four years without the bee population. Whilst it is widely accepted that this would not actually be the case as bees are not the ONLY pollinators, they are certainly the most prolific, ensuring the success of crops, orchards and indeed our own flower gardens.
Beekeeping can be fascinating, enjoyable and is completely safe. Attending the taster day will give you the opportunity to learn more about the workings of an apiary, honey and beeswax production and to ask questions from how to get started to how to stock your garden with the most bee friendly plants and flowers. I promise you'll discover that these creatures really aren't the bad boys they're reputed to be!
For more details visit thebestof Croydon's Events page or go to http://croydonbeekeepers.co.uk
