Members visit to the Association Apiary
The inaugural members event at the association apiary took place on Sunday 31st May 2015. Due to poor weather and a bank holiday weekend only 12 members attended the event.
After the health and safety briefing, John O'Sullivan led the group through a discussion about setting up bait hives/swarm traps. Many of the attendees contributed to the discussion by describing the various approaches they use and sharing their experiences.
Next on the agenda was a demonstration of how to construct a hive floor. The apiary needed a new floor and it was decided that building it in front of an audience was a good use of resources. We got a nice new floor and a useful demonstration/tutorial, and also got to recycle some materials that would have otherwise gone to waste.
It was a win-win-win.
Click here for the low-down on Kewl Floor construction.
Finally, the weather cleared up a bit and we had a tour of the apiary. John O'Sullivan showed the attendees the existing hives and new nucleus boxes, but it was too cold to open any of them. We discussed the swarm that occurred the previous day and possible future plans for the apiary.
We ran over the planned departure time of 5pm, but nobody seemed to mind. Finally, we divided up some bee friendly plants, and also planted a few raspberry canes on a patch of waste ground beside the apiary. Everybody seemed to enjoy the afternoon and there was a constant flow of jokes and banter between the attendees. Some people made contact with others with similar interests, and perhaps that will lead to futher conversations or collaboration in the future. There is a provisional plan to hold another similar event on the last Sunday of June, depending on the level of interest and weather conditions.
John O'Sullivan, Apiary Manager, with special thanks to the Apiary Committee members who helped in organising this event. Photos provided courtesy of Pat Campbell and Pauline Walsh.