There is a lot of interest in keeping bees on the allotments and the group had a meeting recently in the Miners Arms for potential new keepers.
The committee encourages responsible bee keeping and intends to issue a brief policy document with guidance for bee keepers on the site. In the meantime you might like to look at Hotwells allotments policy which contains sound and sensible advice and on which, with their permission, we hope to base our policy.
Note particularly the requirement that “Any beekeeper on an HwDAA site must be a member of a bee-keeping organisation (eg Bristol Beekeepers’ Association) and therefore have appropriate insurance cover.” This is essential on our site too.
The new hive has done spectacularly well, yielding 90 lbs of honey, not counting a good reserve left with them for the winter.
A beekeepers group started up this year within the allotments – there are several hives now, the one below was newly established last June and seems to have overwintered well. If you are interested to know more or get involved use the contact link on this website and we’ll put you in touch.
We also plan to encourage plotholders to plant bee friendly plants as part of a national initiative aimed at halting the decline in the UK bee population, download the leaflet safe land for Bees.pdf and watch this space for more information.
Other local beekeeping groups:-
Horfield Allotments