Welcome to sponsoring a honeybee colony
Build a sponsorship package to suit you
In 1900 there were an estimated 1,000,000 honeybee colonies in the UK. Today the estimate is 280,000 colonies. This is due to a combination of change in land use, pesticides, parasites, disease and habitat loss. So bees need your help.
The sponsored hive is the simplest scheme however, there a number of additional options available. Each of the schemes is suitable for private individuals who want to make a difference or corporate entities wishing to deliver on their company's Corporate & Social Responsibility (CSR) ambitions. In either case sponsoring a hive of honeybees is a form of direct action.
Upon joining a sponsored hive package the sponsor receives a welcome pack. It contains:
A certificate of sponsorship or adoption
A plaque on the hive. (We will be in touch about the design)
A pack of wild flower seeds and a skep shaped candle
There will be periodic updates on the status of the colony
12 x 120g jars of honey at the end of the season
Sponsored hive
The simplest version of a sponsored hive scheme is to have the The Bee Farmer host a hive on your behalf at one of the Bee Farmers locations. The Bee Farmer looks after the honeybee colony in the hive with a series of husbandry visit year-round, medicatation and feeding. The sponsors and friends or employees are able to visit the hives to view them from a respectful distance. The sponsor will receive periodic updates on the hive's well being. The hives often feature in social media posts
You may wish to add one of the options below at the start of the sponsorship or take up one or more options through the season.
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Hosted Hive
In this version the Bee Farmer hive[s] reside on your site. The Bee Farmer looks after the honeybee colony in the hive with a series of husbandry visit from February to September. The sponsor has the amenity of the bees on site. They can be focal point for well being e.g. a stroll to the garden to see the bees from a respectful distance. The hive engages sponsors, staff and guests to help them appreciate why their bees are making a difference. The bees also provide endless CSR, HR and PR opportunities. The hive of honeybees often acts as a catalyst to contribute to biodiversity and the wider environment.
You may wish to add one of the options below at the start of the sponsorship or take up one or more options through the season.
Click on the button to build your sponsorship package
Supported Hive
In the supported hive the sponsors' staff are trained to look after the honeybees. This can be an evolution from the hosted or sponsored hive scheme. Students of The Bee Farmer Foundation course benefit from membership of a peer support group both online at a monthly meeting. The Bee Farmer would be engaged as a mentor. The company decide the level of support from the Bee Farmer. As with Hosted hive package They can be focal point for well being e.g. a stroll to the garden to see the bees from a respectful distance. The hive engages sponsors, staff and guests to help them appreciate why their bees are making a difference. The bees also provide endless CSR, HR and PR opportunities. The hive of honeybees often acts as a catalyst to contribute to biodiversity and the wider environment.
You may wish to add one of the options below at the start of the sponsorship or take up one or more options through the season.
Click on the button to build your sponsorship package
Here are the additional options to enhance your sponsorship package.
Build a hive
Suitable for just about anyone to take part. A flat pack hive kit is provided along with tools and fixings. The Bee Farmer leads the group though building the hive and its internal frames. This is the hive the bees will live in. The session takes a couple of hours. It depends on how many hands are available. With the hive completed it can be painted. The outer faces of the hive does not normally need weather protection. However painting the hive gives a sense of ownership and prolongs the life of the hives. The sponsor can decide how to decorate the outer faces of the hive. There is a scientific reason to paint hives. Honeybees recognise shapes and colours. where there is more than one hive from which to choose the decorated hive allows the bees to find their particular hive.
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Colony Visit
Should a sponsor wish to take a delve inside the hive to see their secret world, The Bee Farmer offers a guided tour called a colony visit.The Bee Farmer points out the stages of the bee's life cycle as we examine the hive. We will see the different castes of bees. We may even see the Queen...she is in there somewhere! We will see just how the bees arrange their world. You will handle the bees if you wish. We go at your pace. A hive full of bees can be intimidating. The visit lasts about two hours
The visit can tale place at either the Bee farmer's apiary or the sponsors apairy. The hive visit is a time to make memories and mark a celebration. Dad's and daughter, Mums and Sons, Birthdays, Mothers day, Fathers days, a leaving present, Retirement, as a reward or just a day out with the better half. Take lots of photos, ask lots of questions.
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Gift pack
A gift certificate is a smashing way to give a physical present for an event to be redeemed in the future.
The recipient of the gift cards receives a certificate, a letter describing the event contained in a presentation box. The gift pack can be posted to the giver or the receiver of the gift pack as you choose. Just let me know using the notes section of the shop
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Training
The objective of the Foundation course in Beekeeping is to provide a well rounded knowledge of keeping honeybees to get the beginner off to flying start. A beekeeper needs to be proactive since the bees have their own agenda and will carry on regardless. Understanding how and why bees work will lead to a greater enjoyment of your honeybees and to recognise when they need support.
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A talk to introduce honeybees
This is talk to introduce the world of honeybees and the hive you are to host or be supported with. This talk start with what are insects. Honeybees are a type of insects. We lookat honeybee's cousins and why they are different honeybees. We look at their anatomy. Then we discover the honeybees life cycle and the jobs they do before we seem them on our flowers. We also talk about how honey is made and what is it purpose.
This introduction is a way to engage a wider group that may not be directly involved in the hosted and Supported hive scheme.
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Honey Extraction
This is a two part exercise (Extraction & Jarring) run a two separate days but a sponsor can elect to do just one or other of the sessions. The sessions are two hours long.
At the end of the summer your colony may have produced an excess of honey. In the extraction session we separate the honey from honeycomb. Bee Farmer helps the sponsor uncap the frames of honey and to use the hand cranked extractor to separate the honey from the comb. The honey runs out of the extractor, through a filter and into a bucket.
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Honey Jarring
This is a two part exercise (Extraction & Jarring) run a two separate days but a sponsor can elect to do just one or other of the sessions. The sessions are two hours long.
In the jarring or bottling session do just that, we decant the extracted honey which has been filtered prepared by The Bee Farmer in to jars. We talks about food hygiene, weights and measures as we go long. In advance of the jarring session the sponsor may have created bespoke labels. Those labels will be afixed to the jars during the session or the sponsor can use The Bee Farmers labels.
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General terms of the scheme
The sponsor package starts 1st January and ends 31st December of the same year. Sponsoring a honeybee colony with The Bee Farmer Ltd does not confer any right of ownership to the beehive sponsor. The Honeybees, the hive and all the equipment remains the property of The Bee Farmer Ltd. By adopting a hive does not confer any right to access the land the upon which the adopted beehive is located and adopters have no access the land or the adopted beehive without the consent and presence of The Bee Farmer Ltd except with agreed parameters. The income received by The Bee Farmer Ltd from the sponsorship scheme helps secure the future of honeybees and helps with the maintenance of the bees. The money is not refundable as it will have been spent on the purchase of the hive, signage, bees and upkeep. Monies given to The Bee Farmer Ltd are donations to help the bees. The donation is required in advance of the designated period. Visitors to the hives must comply with The Bee Farmer Ltd instructions at all times. Your safety and that of the bees is paramount.