Last summer, when Connie was just 6 she wrote me a delightful letter asking if she could come and see the bees. Connie was inspired by her head teacher who happens to be a beekeeper also and is dedicated to education about the natural world. After a first visit with her daddy last year, Connie has been coming over by herself to learn about beekeeping. Over the winter, she and her mummy painted a standard national brood box and we plan to move a colony from jumbo frames (14 x 12″) into it as soon as the weather warms up.
Sadly, on our first day together of this season my camera was playing up so the quality of some of these photos is poor.
Never too young to start beekeeping
Smoking
A quick peek into the top super where the bees are cleaning up frames stored wet over winter
Getting it right
Obviously safety is paramount when teaching children in an apiary and we will be working Connie’s bees at ground level.
That is really delightful to read. I wish I had had someone like you, grown up, when I was young, to give me an insight into the interesting lives of bees. Still never too late to learn………………not even at 77. Thank you dear Ann for that lovely blog. It is so lovely.
You’re right, Catriona, never too old either to learn about bees. Glad you like the blog even if the photos were not up to scratch.
The young apprentice beekeeper appears very focused, and very attentive to the needs of the bees.
Love the paintwork on the hive!
Well done, Connie.
Yes,Linton,Connie is remarkably mature and focused for her age and able to process a lot of information. She asks a lot of questions in order to understand how the bees live in the hive. Learning about the environment at school is a huge asset and so a beekeeping session involves things like discussing bee plants and spraying aphids on lupins with soapy water etc.
Love it, especially when a young child is so involved. Painting a beehive is a wonderful idea.
I think that it helps for children to be really part of beekeeping if they are involved in the creation of something like an attractive home for bees. Connie would like to have bees at home but her family are not ready for this yet, so she is looking after a particular colony of mine that we call “Connie’s Bees”.
Painting a beehive is a wonderful idea.