Wiltshire Bee & Honey Day is this Saturday, October 9th, at the Devizes Corn Exchange.
This year George Kimpton of Brinkworth and his fiancee Alice Chappel learned how to harvest honey thanks to mum Fran Kimpton.
They learned how to open a hive, uncap the honey and spin it out before bottling it. They hope to sell it at the Wiltshire Bee & Honey Day this Saturday, October 9th in Devizes Corn Exchange.
Among those giving free talks on the day is Master Beekeeper Richard Oliver from Easterton. He will be explaining to people just like George and Alice how to get into beekeeping, the trials, tribulations and excitement of harvesting your own honey and answering questions on everything from the cost of setting up your own hive to where best to position a hive in your back garden.
He will be joined by Ken Basterfield, who will talk about some of the techniques that he has developed over 40 years of beekeeping to help with the heavy work of managing bees, and what beekeepers should be looking for when they open up their hives. Marin Anastasov NDB will talk about what goes on inside a bee’s head. He will explore how these tiny insects experience and express false memories, abstract concepts, categorisation and even numericity, how they perceive the world, how they learn, and even how they express emotion.
Guy Parker of Eden Renewables, headline supporters of the show, will talk about at biodiversity around solar farms and demonstrates that there is a place for technology in nature. He also looks at solar beehives and shows how they may help beekeepers reduce varroa loads, the terrible bee parasite that will cause most untreated colonies to sicken and die.
There are several exhibitors, including Wadworth Brewery from Devizes, which brewed a special honey ale especially for the event that visitors can sample on the day. There will also be mead, for those that want a taste and honey products to buy. They will be joined by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, CPRE Wiltshire, Woodland Trust and Bumble Bee Conservation Trust.
Visitors are promised hands-on experiences from candle rolling to exploring inside a virtual hive as well learning all about where and when they can find flora, fauna and open spaces in Wiltshire that are home to many varieties of insects.
Saturday, 9 October 2019 – Entry is free to all.
Corn Exchange, The Market Place, Devizes SN10 1HS
www.wiltshirebeekeepers.co.uk
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