MAKEA A BEE LINLINE FOR ASHFORD’S NEW FESTIVAL
THE inaugural Ashford Honey Festival will feature honey tasting and the chance to observe a bee hive and watch the bees at work.
The festival takes place in Ashford Community Centre on Saturday, September 23, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m..
Philip McCabe, World Beekeeping President, will provide an interesting and entertaining lecture. There will be story-time for the younger ones along with a kids quiz.
There will also be honey tasting and an opportunity to buy some honey and ‘ bee friendly’ plants. Tea, coffee and cakes will also be served, making it a perfect family day out.
Eamonn Grant was always curious about bee production and after a number of years decided to finally carry out some research on the subject. A quick search of the internet led him to the Irish Beekeepers’ Association website, where he learnt that there was a thriving beekeepers’ association in Ashford village.
‘I emailed the Ashford Beekeepers’ Association and they let me know when the next beginners’ course was starting. The course is held over the winter months, which is the quiet time for beekeeping. There is one beginners’ lecture a month and one general interest lecture a month. I attended a bee lecture every two weeks and my knowledge and interest grew.
‘ There are two types of people who attend the lectures; those who plan to keep bees and those who just enjoy learning more about these complex and ingenious insects. I was one of the former so I started gathering the materials I needed and I got my first bees in late May of this year. It was fantastic to observe the colony in real life,’ said Eamonn.
He maintains that keeping bees isn’t necessarily the tough task many think.
‘I started off as a complete novice. The amount of care needed in keeping bees is minimal. You don’t have to bring them for a walk and the only thing you need to gather up is the honey! When the honey harvesting is completed, the winter months are very quiet.’
Sadly bee numbers in Ireland are steadily declining, primarily caused by the varroa mite, which causes varroasis. Many crops depend on bees for pollination and some are heavily dependent on them. Without the insects, there would be little or no crop to harvest.
‘ The honey bee is struggling in Ireland,’ said Eamonn. ‘ The biggest problem is the mite which completely decimates bee populations.
We have another problem coming now too.
It prays on honey bees and stays outside the hive waiting to attack.’