Welcome to sponsoring a honeybee colony
Build a Supported Hive 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 supported hive scheme is designed to have a base scheme where memebers of the sponsor business or group activiely take part in learning about and looking after a colony of honeybees. The scheme has a number of additional options available. The scheme 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 hosting of a hive of honeybees is a form of direct action.
A Supported Hive
In this scheme The Bee Farmer hive[s] reside on your site. The Bee Farmer looks after the honeybee colony in association with trained members of the business or group. The team memeber[s] are trained in beekeeping through the Foundation course in Beekeeping. They are then mentored through the season. The Bee Farmer guides the team through the trials, tribulations and triumphs of the season,
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 hosts, 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.
Download the options PDF document and you can select the items or the number of items you would like to take up. We do not provide exact pricing from the download as we do not know where you are located. Travel has an implication in the pricing. We do have a high degree of flexibility in our pricing structure.
Click on the button to build your sponsorship package
Once you have reviewed the options, email the options PDF to info@thebeefarmer.co.uk for pricing.
You can always elect to take up additional options later in the season.
Here are couple of the businesses that have supported hives.
Aldi flex between two and four hives. The hives are in the grounds of the HQ site. They have a Bee-team who are drawn from the HQ office staff. Each hive has its teams that is responsble for it. The hives are in the grounds of the HQ site.
Cosy Direct has a pair of hives in a field adjacent to the factory. The trained staff like the comfort and confidence of the mentoring sessions, especially as visitors to Cosy are often invited to get a bee suit to see inside their hives.
Here are the additional options to enhance your hosting 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.
The hive build is best carried out during the winter or spring time. The idea being that hive is ready for occupation when the bees start their spring build up.
Additional Visit
Should a host 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 host's apiary. The hive visit is a time to make memories, mark a celebration, reward someone or as a market opportunity. Take lots of photos, ask lots of questions.
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
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.
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 starts with what are insects. Honeybees are a type of insects. We look at 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 hive scheme.
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.
As host you can elect to have The Bee Farmer extract and jar the honey for you. The harvest is delivered to the host with or without labels. Most hosts like to apply their own labels. The honey is treated as a wholesale item for costs
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 affixed to the jars during the session or the sponsor can use The Bee Farmers labels.
As host you can elect to have The Bee Farmer extract and jar the honey for you. The harvest is delivered to the host with or without labels. Most hosts like to apply their own labels. The honey is treated as a wholesale item for costs
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.