The organisation’s purposes are to support honeybees and hobby beekeepers, to improve the standard of beekeeping, and to promote honeybee products in Scotland through:
• The advancement of education in relation to the craft of beekeeping;
• The advancement of the heritage, culture and science of beekeeping; and
• The advancement of environmental protection by conservation of the honeybee
This year we engaged more with a wider audience to raise awareness of the different types of bees and their importance in pollination and our food supply.
We also had a new focus on secondary school education and supporting that in terms of materials and resources for the new SQA approved modules in Beekeeping. The main aim (and hope) being to recruit and educate the beekeepers of our future.
Your support also allowed us to hand out Scottish Beekeeping items to over 200 participants from 30 countries at the International Meeting of Young Beekeepers in Slovakia. This annual competition sees teams of young beekeepers (aged 12 to 17years) from all over the world compete for the title of Best Young Beekeeper in the World, and we were delighted to share with you that Martin Leahy from Tarland won the overall competition, a fantastic achievement for him, his local bee group, the Scottish Beekeepers’ Association and Scottish Beekeeping!
Over the last year, your generous monthly grant has contributed to the purchase of materials and education items which we have distributed to nurseries, schools, youth groups, additional learning groups and the public at various talks and events across Scotland.
Your contributions have meant in total last year we handed out
• 8,848 leaflets on how to help bees and create your own pollinator friendly areas
• 8,115 bee friendship bracelets
• 1,464 pollinator friendly seed packs
• 11 educational DVDs with videos and quiz sheets on all things honeybees and beekeeping
These materials have reached the length and breadth of Scotland, from as far north as Dingwall to Western Galloway and Kelso in the south. And at such major events as The Royal Highland Show where 40,000 visitors stepped into the honey tent and had the opportunity to learn more about bees, honeybees and beekeeping.
Attached separately are some images from a few of our talks and events across the year. More detailed information was sent each month for inclusion into your Community Fund blog.
