What does your BKA do that's good?

[alldigging]

What interesting talks or activities has your local BKA done?

What do you like about your local BKA.

(I'd like to have an anonymous thread so people could post what they don't like without anyone's feelings being hurt, but for now, we can try discussing what's positive)

 

[For want of a better word]

What does your BKA do that's good?

Trying to think.... seems it does a lot for honey showers and I suppose it does bring beekeepers together.

What could your BKA do better?

Nos da

 

[Gilberdyke John]

What interesting talks or activities has your local BKA done?

What do you like about your local BKA.

(I'd like to have an anonymous thread so people could post what they don't like without anyone's feelings being hurt, but for now, we can try discussing what's positive)

Ask yourself not what my association can do for me, rather what can I do for my association.

 

[WoodenBeam]

Ask yourself not what my association can do for me, rather what can I do for my association.

Very true

Beekeeping Safari is always an interesting & social day. Club apiary is open to all interested in beekeeping, suits provided & FOC - a good place for potential beginners.

 

[REDWOOD]

I'm not going to blow my own trumpet but there is a small group of us that do everything. we ask for volunteers every year but very seldom we get anyone.

 

[Pete D]

My association has lectures, demonstrations, bee health days, bulk buying scheme, an education team that teaches and trains modules, the basic and husbandry.
It holds workshops on honey and wax preparation for sale and the show bench, queen rearing sessions, couple of social events, honey show, numerous public shows, website with members area, a great newsletter and year book and the chance to meet up and chat bees and beekeeping with 200 like minded members.
Probably a few things I have missed, but that's a good start.

 

[pargyle]

Mine brings people together who care about their bees ... a diverse group of people but sadly only a relatively small percentage of the membership support the talks, the events at which we meet the public and the summer apiary meetings. I have some good friends in the association who I know I can call on in times of need and it gives me an opportunity to talk bees ... a few are open to new ideas or different ways - the majority follow a route that has worked for them. I participate - I am welcomed and appreciated for that and tolerated for my wayward beekeeping ...

Being there is what they do best ....

 

[Amari]

Very true

Beekeeping Safari is always an interesting & social day. Club apiary is open to all interested in beekeeping, suits provided & FOC - a good place for potential beginners.

That's thanks to your leadership WoodenBeam. Also to mention: 40-50 members attend the monthly talks over winter; a successful annual honey show.

 

[B+.]

I am a member of Bedfordshire Beekeepers Association (BedsBKA) - http://www.bedfordshirebeekeepers.org.uk/

They're very good at teaching newbies how to handle bees. They have two teaching apiaries (one in the north and one in the south of the county) and run a training programme each winter with practical sessions every sunday morning (starting in the spring). This helps newbies get a basic understanding of bees and get over any nervousness about handling a colony.
From what I hear of other associations, BedsBKA has a strong following with lots of members (I believe it is somewhere around the 400 mark). Of course, there are disagreements about what the association should be doing (when does any group not have disagreements?) but, in the end, we all pull in the same direction.

 

[Teemore]

I am a member of several BKAs and am amongst the "doing" members in all of them.

My local association holds monthly meetings, usually with a lecture and always with Tea and Sandwiches at half time: our venue is a local pub and they make us fantastic sandwiches. We draw upon a variety of lecturers, some from other local associations, some home grown and some from further afield. There is the opportunity to chat over T&C during the break. We have an annual honey show, run a beginners course annually, periodic apiary visits, annual dinner, quiz and we have started replacing one lecture a year by bringing in one of the beekeeping suppliers with their wares. In the background we run a DVD for those who have made or purchased their kit elsewhere. We also bring a beekeeping display to a couple of local shows and craft fares where we interact with the public and inform them about beekeeping.
Some fo the other organisations I am directly involved with run annual conferences, annual honey shows and interact with political representatives in an effort to support beekeeping and beekeepers and raise awareness of their input to the local and national economy in the UK and Ireland. There has been input into various elements of the All Ireland Pollinator Plan and the Strategy on the Sustainability of the Honeybee (NI). These organisations are investing their funds and efforts to the benefit of beekeepers and recently have made a concerted investment in helping beekeepers better identify notifiable brood diseases and supporting research that will benefit the wider beekeeping community.

 

[alldigging]

Our group isn't an association but we have a monthly bee chat evening in a local club.
We have had lots of training sessions over the summer and did a hive building workshop.

Some of us have been to events like last years Cheshire bee health Day, this years Bradford bee Health day, and the Lancashire & NW BKA Spring convention last year.