Sadly honeybees today are under threat from disease. It is often difficult for individual beekeepers to keep up to date with new management techniques. Bridgend Beekeepers Association can help with education, purchase of equipment, mentoring new beekeepers, loan of books and equipment, and general support and advice on how to care for and manage your bees for a better crop and healthier bees.
We offer a beginners class which will equip you with all the basic information to successfully look after your bee colonies. This course starts in October and takes place on Tuesday evenings at 7pm/
Price: Free to members. Non-members £32.
Venue: Parc Slip Nature Centre, Fountain Road, Tondu, CF32 0EH
This is a practical beekeeping course run in the summer months. It starts each May. We can provide you with protective equipment. This course allows you to practice your hands on beekeeping skills in a teaching apiary under the supervision of an experienced beekeeper.
Price: Free to members. Non-members £32
Venue: contact the association, apiary is moving this winter
Master classes are offered to members wanting to take National Beekeeping Examinations up to Master Beekeeper.
Allies courses such as Food Hygiene (required if you wish to sell your honey or even give your honey to friends, neighbours and family) are periodically run by the Association. Other organisations are welcome to send members.
These are held at the Association Apiary between March and September. We explore more advanced methods of bee husbandry and breeding.
Held on the second tuesday of the month at Parc Slip Nature Reserve. We invite speakers of interest to give talks to our members.
In October we hold our annual show. Here you can taste local honey at it's best, admire products from the hive and sample different sorts of mead.
Access to the Association Shop We buy beekeeping equipment in bulk and sell it at cost price to members. This reduces the cost of basic equipment and treatments for members (not to mention the fabulous advice on hand from Mike to help prevent expensive mistakes).
Insurance Membership of the assciation includes
NewsletterMonthly newsletter to keep you up to date with local events and news.
Welsh Beekeepers Association Magazine Quarterly magazine free to members.
Extraction Equipment The Association will lend extraction and filtering equipment to members for free. These items are expensive and take up a lot of storage space and so it is not normally cost effective for the small beekeeper to purchase their own.
Support and AdviceAn under-rated but very important part of the association. We are a friendly association with lots of experienced beekeepers willing to offer advice an support ot all beekeepers. Above all we have fun.
Bee Sales An important point about buying bees is to ensure they are in good health. It is essential that the beginner takes along an experienced beekeeper when buying bees. The person selling the bees should be happy to allow you to handle the bees and have them checked for disease by a DEFRA Inspector. Each year the Association breeds and raises a limited number of bee colonies for sale to Association Members only at approximately 30% below market price. These colonies will be examined for brood disease BEFORE sale. Non-members can buy colonies at the standard rate.