New BKA Apiary - Guidelines req'd

[blackcavebees]

Our local BKA has just got permission from a local industry for a small out apiary (max 12 hives) on their land. They have provided parking and have fenced off an area for us, and the plan is to have it as a teaching apiary for our new beeks and also an area for us to do some queen rearing.

We want to start as we mean to go on ... And set guidelines for use, restrict number of hives per member, hive hardware in good condition, swarms automatically belong to association, etc.

Does anyone have a policy or "terms of use" they use for their local BKA and would be willing to pm me?

Thanks for your help

 

[Barbarian]

Some info from my assoc apiary.

Max 2 hives per member.
Member allowed hives on if no personal site available.
Apiary manager (plus assistant) required.
Policy for dead or abandoned hives needed.
Policy for varroa control.

 

[Skyhook]

On ours, members may place hives there at the apiary managers discretion, but can be asked to remove them at any time.

 

[Travelator]

If it's going to be a teaching apiary (as opposed to merely a shared association apiary), I think you ought to have colonies and equipment that are owned by the association. You should try to have as much of the management as possible done by learners under the guidance of experienced beekeepers, but you would also need an apiary manager who is prepared to look after the colonies (for those times when swarm preparations or breaks in the weather don't coincide with meeting dates).

I would have thought that trying to teach effectively on a collection of colonies belonging to random people would be difficult. The teachers/pupils might not know the history of each colony and therefore what needs to be done with it, and the owners might be upset by their colonies being bashed around by beginners.

 

[davnig]

If it's going to be a teaching apiary (as opposed to merely a shared association apiary), I think you ought to have colonies and equipment that are owned by the association. You should try to have as much of the management as possible done by learners under the guidance of experienced beekeepers, but you would also need an apiary manager who is prepared to look after the colonies (for those times when swarm preparations or breaks in the weather don't coincide with meeting dates).

I would have thought that trying to teach effectively on a collection of colonies belonging to random people would be difficult. The teachers/pupils might not know the history of each colony and therefore what needs to be done with it, and the owners might be upset by their colonies being bashed around by beginners.

Good post.

You have to decide if you want a Teaching Apiary to educate or an out-apiary for members, you can't really have both in the same place.

If you have an out-apiary for members then you always have the greater risk of disease as new colonies are added from members - sounds like a recipe for disaster

 

[alanf]

Most of those posted online (goggle "apiary rules") tend to launch straight into rules, hygiene, record keeping, knocking out smokers or whatever.

I'd start with a basic statement that the aim is to be a good neighbour, to other beekeepers on site or in the area, the public and the site owner.

Next up is some basic structure to the management, an apiary manager elected or appointed by the BKA committee to oversee day to day and resolve disputes. Final decisions rest with the manager or referred to the committee? If you want training hives, somebody has to make decisions, delegate tasks and supervise the management of those hives, maybe a separate training officer.

Then anything you want to agree under basic headings:

• Access rules to the site, keys, times, no unsupervised beginners or similar.
• Hygiene rules, equipment, material brought onto site, disease treatment etc. Compliance with all the statutory rules, disease standstills etc. Maybe include that NBU or RBI recommendations are target management standard.
• If members own hives are there, then who qualifies, full member only, limited numbers, what can be left on site, stands, spacing, temporary nuc boxes, waiting lists. Either check insurance limits or agree to bear losses as they arise.
• Responsibilities for members hives re disease control and swarm prevention. deposit of contact details in each hive or with apiary manager.
• Communication expected each way from manager and hive owners
• Contributions to maintenance or annual fees to cover expenditure?
• Swarms, known, unknown or disputed origin.
• Abandoned hives, what qualifies, duty of manager to deal with concerns raised, inspections and treatments, authorising interventions.

And any other broad topics you want understood from the beginning. The sort of scenarios you may have to cope with are members who don't have the time to fully manage a hive, delegated care because of illness or work commitments etc that turn permanent, late membership fees or resignations. There are many others in addition to the basic disease and swarm problems.

There are plenty of shared apiaries that run with nothing more than a handshake, which is fine as long as all the original participants remain friendly and active. The problems tend to come when more are involved and others take over hives without clear ground rules.

 

[blackcavebees]

Thanks to everyone who replied, appreciated.

Site is an old orchard, very overgrown, so needs a bit of hard landscaping first before we move bees there but really nice situation, and a lot of ivy covering the ruin of an old country house about 200 yards away too (winter is coming)
Groundwork will give me time to get policy together. Thanks again,

Stephen