Bungay Beehive Day

Festival Marquee, Castle Meadow

Sunday 24 July, 2011

10.30-4pm

Getting the whole town buzzing

Bungay Beehive Day is a celebration of the honeybee and other pollinating insects along with the plants they love. It’s a first-of-its-kind event organised by Bungay Community Bees (BCB) as part of the Bungay Festival and aims to promote awareness and enjoyment of the key relationship between people, plants and bees. Although we’ll be celebrating “all things bee” our theme will centre on the importance of insect pollination and how everyone can grow and protect flowers to support bees and other insects in our local environment.

Central to the day and the marquee will be an observation hive provided by Waveney Beekeepers, so everyone can see how honey bees work within a hive. A wide diversity of stalls will be busy giving both information all about bees and bee-friendly plants and everything you need to know about becoming a beekeeper and also selling plants and seeds, bee-related crafts and of course honey! There will be an activities area for children from making a bee swarm to to a flower mural and on the stage there will be a lively series of workshops and talks running through the day.

So if you want to know how to make a bee hotel and beeswax candle and find out all about natural beekeeping to bumblebees this is where you need to be! We’ll have a guest speaker from the innovative River of Flowers project talking about creating urban meadows in green corridors, as well as pollination and bio-diversity, a walk discovering Bees and Flowers in the neighbourhood and also a honey cake competition (with prize from BCB organiser and master cake maker from Three Willows Café, Gemma Parker).

Everyone is welcome. Refreshments are available.

Talks 11am Bee Guardians: Natural Beekeeping Trust 12 noon Bee and Flower Walk 1pm Bee corridors and biodiversity: River of Flowers 2pm Healing Power of Honey 3pm Bumblebees.

Workshops 11-12.30 Wildflowers for gardens and making bee Hotels. 2.30-4 Wildflowers for allotments and vegetable gardens and making bug hotels. On going making beeswax candles and beeframes; children's activities: making puppets, mobiles, masks and bee and flower mural.

Honey cake competition: Bake and bring along a honey cake with the most delicious winning a £15 gift voucher. 3pm Judging

We made it!

So, despite the rather desperate weather yesterday, Dan and I managed to finish putting together the remaining frames!  Thanks to Darren, who brought round some new foundation after footie on Thursday, we had everything we needed.  There was a perfect moment when a honeybee flew down to see what we were up to and started exploring in amongst the frames, but sadly I wasn't quick enough to take what would have been a great photo!  It gave me confidence that our work was heading in the right direction.

Then we headed up the farm with our newly completed hive put it in pride of place, all ready for the bees to inhabit!

The hive in situ!

We both felt really pleased and proud to have finally got everything in place!

Birds and the Bees

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