Pevensey & Westham Community Apiary

Welcome to Pevensey & Westham Community Apiary!

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One of the most treasured foods in the world is honey, and what better way of producing honey than doing it locally and sustainably with our own bees! Our Pevensey Community Apiary project started up in Spring of 2016 and as of September 2016 we now have 5 beehives on site, each hive containing a swarm collected by our head beekeeper, Jennifer Moore, and lovingly fed by her so that each swarm can, by next year, become a fully developed colony capable of producing enough surplus honey for us to harvest and share with, or sell to, the local community.

Our apiary site is a piece of land that had been left unmanaged for many years, so our keen team of volunteers have been busy clearing away a huge amount of dead undergrowth and pollarding the many overgrown trees and shrubs, as well as creating access pathways and small clearings, so that the first beehives could be brought onto the site. The flora and fauna on site is abundant and diverse, providing much pollen and nectar for our bees, who appear to be flourishing as a result. Part of the site used to be allotments many years ago, and some mature apple tress have survived from that period. We will be pruning these trees back into better health over the autumn and winter, as well as planting up some new fruit trees in the first phase of our plan to turn a large part of the site into a 'forest garden' so as to provide our local community with a sustainable source of organic fruit. With so many bees on site, pollination should not be a problem!

We're always on the look-out for more volunteers, and there's always plenty for them to do on site! We have volunteer sessions, weather permitting, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings each week. If you'd like to volunteer, please email incrediblepaw@aol.com or contact our Lead Co-ordinator for the apiary, Andy Durling, on 01323 460338 or 07402321382.

How we look after our bees

a message from our head beekeeper:

Balanced Beekeeping:

A honeybee colony is an organism composed of many thousands of individual bees. However, they operate as one being so it is important to view the colony as the organism, not each single bee.

There are 3 different types of honeybee within a colony: the Queen, who lays eggs and emits pheromones to influence the behaviour within the hive; workers who are sterile females and run the day-to-day operations and drones who are the males, whose main purpose is to mate with virgin queens, but they are also likely to help with temperature regulation and possibly other roles that are as yet unknown.

As a general rule, the colony overwinters as a tight cluster around their honey stores in the combs at the top of the hive. Apart from venturing out to defecate they stay as a group of about 10,000 keeping warm. When the weather starts to warm up, they will start to leave the hive on foraging missions to collect pollen from spring bulbs, primroses and willow trees. The queen bee will start to lay eggs in the newlycleaned hexagonal cells and baby bees are fed on a pollen-based diet by the workers. They are still living off their honey stores at this time and using up a great deal of energy. A bee egg develops in to a larvae, and then pupates, at which point the end of the cell is capped over with wax. The young bee emerges a few days later, the whole process having taken 21 days. As numbers within the hive increase - the queen can lay up to 2,000 eggs a day once she gets going including some eggs which will become drones, or male bees - there will be pressure within the colony to swarm. The workers will place an egg in a specially constructed 'queen cell' and feed it royal jelly, a high protein compound which allows the ovaries of the new queen to develop. Once the queen cell has been sealed, the swarm - consisting of the original queen and a selection of different bees from the colony - will depart. Swarm sizes vary from a few thousand to over twenty thousand bees. The new queen will hatch and after a week or so, leave the hive to mate on the wing with the waiting drones. This is a risky time for the queen and is a common reason for failure of a colony: bad weather can prevent the queen from leaving the hive, or she can get lost, or eaten, or not mate effectively. Not every colony will swarm, and a queen in her second year is at her strongest and will produce a large and thriving colony if conditions are favourable. Back to the swarm: assuming the queen mates successfully, the colony will continue to build, with the new queen starting to lay eggs. This break in the brood cycle as it's known is an excellent way of reducing Varroa mite numbers as they require brood to complete their lifecycle. Once the new bees are out foraging, pollinating thousands of flowers in their wake, the colony will start to pack nectar in to the combs on top of the brood nest area for their winter stores.

In a good year, a large healthy colony can store many combs, and if a small amount of surplus is taken mid-season from an established hive (ie one that has not swarmed) it will not be detrimental to the bees' welfare overwinter at all. The problems occur when too much honey is taken as the bees might need it to last until the following April if the spring weather is poor. Some beekeepers feed sugar syrup as a replacement for the honey that's been removed but sugar syrup is simply calories rather than the sophisticated substance that is honey, so unless a colony is starving, it is inadvisable to feed sugar. Saved honey from your own apiary can be fed to weak or needy bees if necessary.

As autumn continues, the queen will lay fewer eggs and the foragers will be busy gathering pollen and nectar from ivy and the last of the late summer flowers. The bees should have plenty of honey in the top centre of the hive as winter approaches - the square construction of most hives is not particularly bee-friendly and they won't locate honey in the corners. The bees will spend more time in the hive and gradually the summer bees will die off, leaving a small group to overwinter.

Balanced Beekeeping is a term coined by Philip Chandler, and is on the natural beekeeping spectrum. The beekeeper works as much with the bees' natural processes as possible. Occasional inspections are necessary but each time the hive is opened, important chemical messages and a large amount of heat and humidity is lost. Bees maintain a temperature of approximately 36°C within the centre of the brood nest (similar to mammalian body temperature) and a humidity of 40%, and as they operate almost entirely in the dark, chemical signals and pheromones are vital to the smooth running of so many individuals. Therefore, apart from a check in the spring to establish how the colony has overwintered and to see when are thinking about swarming, and couple of occasions over the summer during good weather to remove honey or check if a new queen is laying, the colony can remain undisturbed. Observation is key in this: the bees are still checked regularly but external factors and behavioural changes are noted rather than relying on inspections. The brood area of the hive is usually left alone, the common analogy being that you don't open up a person's chest to see if their heart is beating... Swarming is not prevented, it is managed. To lose a swarm is disappointing as it may be a good fecund queen and she will take up to half the colony with her. They may also settle somewhere unsuitable such as a chimney and have to be destroyed. Therefore, changes in behaviour of the bees and possibly a quick check inside to detect the presence of queen cells can prepare the natural beekeeper for a likely swarm. Once they have left the hive and settled nearby (like this swarm in an apple tree pictured left), the swarm can be shaken gently in to a skep and transferred to a new hive. The bees are usually very calm and biddable when they are in a swarm cluster and it is a magical event to experience. Another area where natural beekeeping differs is that the bees are allowed to build their own wax comb. Normally, sheets of pre-formed, wired wax, called foundation, are placed in the wooden frames and the bees construct their comb on that in a conventional system. However, the comb is part of the communication network for the bees and the base of the honeycomb particularly is shaped in such a way to facilitate this. Some natural hives have wooden batons on which the bees can fix their comb, or in a traditional hive, a small strip of wax can be placed in the top of the frame and the bees build down from that.

All in all, the essence of natural or balanced beekeeping is to have the bees' needs at the centre of the regime, and to encourage and provide the conditions that stimulate productivity within the colony itself. This also requires a rich habitat of diverse and plentiful foraging plants within a 5-8km radius of the hive to support the colony throughout the year; you cannot keep bees unless you have enough suitable flowering plants in the immediate surrounds for them. With natural beekeeping methods, the hives are spread through an area at natural stocking densities so as to reflect the resources in the local ecosystem and reduce competition with each other and the other pollinating species.

WaywardBee

I have been keeping bees since 2009 and have a range of hives which are managed naturally. I have attended courses on both conventional and natural beekeeping and met knowledgeable and inspirational people from across the whole spectrum of beekeeping methods. In my experience, the bees perform better and are fitter and more able to cope with the challenges of the environment when they are allowed to follow their instincts with minimal physical intervention from a beekeeper, and in an area of rich forage where they can gather a wide range of pollen and nectar. I have a background in agriculture and botany, and have kept and cared for many different animals over the years. The honey from my bees is available for sale subject to availability, and occasionally I can harvest fresh raw honeycomb too, which is a delicacy and very popular. I also supply colonies of bees (with or without a hive), collect swarms and advise on other nesting bees during the summer. I am available to give talks on natural beekeeping as well as pollinators and wildlife gardening. I also advise on both these subjects and can carry out site inspections for prospective beekeepers. In addition to bees and honey, I sell home-grown annual and perennial pollinator plants in peat-free compost to plant out in your garden, allotment or as part of a permaculture zone 5.

Jennifer Moore

WaywardBee

www.waywardbee.blogspot.com

07803 744368

Our management plan:

Management Plan for Pevensey Community Apiary

Version 1.1

Date: 23/08/2016

Author: Andrew Durling

Description of site:

Site is a low-lying, fairly flat strip of land on a flood plain bounded by a road, a stream, a railway line, and a field. Site owned by a local utility company and managed under licence by Incredible Edible Pevensey & Westham. Site formerly dominated by allotments which have been abandoned for about 15 years. Topsoil is thin but very fertile, producing dense undergrowth since the allotments were abandoned, much of that undergrowth being nettles. Topsoil overlays alluvial silts on a clay bed. Many mature trees on site typical of a wetland ecology, and many species of wildflowers and herbs infilling between the trees. Three apple trees, and several plum trees, have survived from the allotments period. The site is adjacent to the Pevensey Levels Ramsar & SSSI site - a Wetland of International Importance - and the two sites are directly connected to each other by the stream that flows past both so it is crucial that no non-native species introduced to the site enters the Ramsar site via the stream.

Tasks completed so far:

Four bee swarms collected, installed in new beehives purchased through grant funding, and installed on site.
Derelict shed on site demolished and replaced with new shed purchased through grant funding.
Gate, fence, and lock installed at entrance to site, to establish first security barrier.
Access pathways created and improved.
Large areas of dead brambles and buddleija undergrowth removed & overgrown crack willow pollarded.
Old shed on site uncovered from undergrowth and reused as a dry storage area.
Removal of non-recyclable site rubbish via disposal in a skip provided free by PJ Skips.
Biodiversity reports for area around site commissioned, and received, from Sussex Wildlife Trust.
Basic tool collection for maintenance of site built up (stored in new shed).
First aid kit purchased and installed in new shed.
Process of repairing/strengthening various fences around the site started, and much use made of branches cut down in site clearing operations.
Cleared most of the vegetation from the Southern Water pumping compound fence (as per the site licence conditions).
Built up a volunteer team and created a regular schedule of work sessions for it (log book started for recording hours worked by volunteers).
Basic administration system set up for managing apiary.
Commissioned a survey and design process for future development of the site according to permaculture principles.
Compilation of database of flora, fauna and wildlife found on site has begun.

Management principles for site:

Biodiversity of site to be protected and enhanced in line with recommendations of Sussex Wildlife Trust.
Recycling/repurposing of materials/resources found/consumed on site to be maximised, with composting best practice adopted.
Natural beekeeping principles to be adopted in management of honey bees within apiary, with bee health as the top priority and any honey extracted only if it represents a genuine surplus that still leaves the bees with enough to survive the next winter on.
Any new planting to be in sympathy with native species on site in order to maintain character of site whilst creating a sustainable supply of organic food crops that can be shared with the local community, thereby increasing its food resilience and food sovereignty.
No pesticides or herbicides of any kind will be used on the site.
No open fires will be permitted on the site without special authorisation.
All volunteers to receive either a face-to-face talk on Health & Safety, and Tool Use, or directed to such information on Incredible Edible Pevensey & Westham’s written/digital materials and asked to confirm that they have received and understood that information. All accidents/incidents on site to be recorded in an Accident Book and analysed promptly by organising committee of Incredible Edible Pevensey & Westham for Health & Safety implications.

Tasks to be done:

Short-term:

Maintain access paths.
Continue to repair/strengthen/improve fences around the site.
Continue to clear all vegetation abutting the fence around the Southern Water pumping compound.
Create new clearings for next beehives to be brought on site, and to create space for raised beds and new fruit/nut trees.
Complete survey of flora and fauna on site.

Medium-term:

Plant new fruit and nut trees on site using grant funding already secured.
Harvest the apple trees in the autumn. Hold an Apple Day?
Prune the apple trees in the winter.
Obtain more water butts and install them on site to expand the rainwater-harvesting system.
Create a cabin on site for workshops, gatherings, etc.
Create a healing garden.
Create some raised beds for any non-native plants introduced.
Bring more beehives on site and build up existing bee colonies to full strength.
Create a series of small ponds, as recommended by Sussex Wildlife Trust, to increase biodiversity and support local wildlife.

Long-term:

Build a cabin onsite with solar panels installed for renewable energy, a rainwater-harvesting system attached, and perhaps a green roof as well.
Create a programme of workshops on site for training volunteers, educating visitors, etc.
Create a complete ’forest garden’.
Use honey obtained from apiary to help create a sustainable source of income for managing the site.