Women and men, old and young and people from all walks of life get enthusiastic about beekeeping!
I bet you can’t work out which one is Cathy!
The Exeter Beekeepers’ Association (EBKA) currently has approximately 160 members and is one of eleven branches of the Devon Beekeepers Association (DBKA) with over 1,000 members. The DBKA is a part of the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA).
The primary objective of the EBKA is to provide a forum for Members to learn more about the hobby of beekeeping and the fascinating world of Honeybees. To this end we meet on alternate Sunday mornings during the summer months for novices, improvers and the more experienced to gain practical experiences of working with honeybees. Monthly evening meetings are held In the winter to hear presentations by experts in specific bee related topics.
Beginners can take advantage of a training course – consisting of both theoretical and practical sessions usually run in the first few months of each year.
We also run a couple of ‘Taster Days’ each summer in which members of the public may visit the Apiary, hear an introduction to bees and beekeeping, and then don a beesuit to have a look inside a working beehive. As the name implies these are intended for those contemplating the hobby of beekeeping, to experience it first hand, and in anticipation of embarking on a training course of some sort.
Be warned – honeybees are fascinating and beekeeping becomes a totally addictive hobby!
One example of this is that, after the Sunday morning practical sessions, Members spend almost as long sitting around over cups of tea discussing next steps with their own colonies or the latest topics in the beekeeping world.
EBKA Members are also entitled to visit meetings of the other Devon Associations so, if another Association has a topic of particular interest, you may ask their Secretary to join in.
Details of meetings are shown on the ‘Events’ page.
Non-members are always welcome to visit but insurance restricts this to two visits before membership is required.