Bee club’s buzzing for centenary event
FAMILY DAY
A CENTURY ago a meeting was called at Newcastle’s Hancock Museum of Natural History to enact some very important “buzziness.”
It led to the formation of the Newcastle & District Beekeepers Association, with officials being elected and rules agreed on May 20, 1922.
On Sunday, the association will be celebrating its centenary with a public “Beefest” at Newcastle Cat and Dog Shelter in Benton.
Beefest will be a family event about the essential role of bees as pollinators and the people who enjoy the hobby of beekeeping.
It will feature a Hive Experience, on its first trip to this region on loan from the British Beekeepers Association, a glass walled observation hive, food stalls, bee friendly plant stall, candle making, honey stall, and short myth-busting talks about bees.
The association moved to share space at the Shelter’s Benton Lane Rehoming Centre last year, where there are now hives that are home to up to 200,000 bees which are used to help train new beekeepers.
Chris Bray, chief executive of Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter, said: “Beefest will be a fantastic event and everyone here is excited to be showcasing our smallest shelter residents.
“Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter recently celebrated our 125th anniversary and we’re thrilled to be helping Newcastle & District Beekeepers Association mark their centenary.
“We ar e delighted to have the beekeepers at our centre. Bees are amazing creatures.
“What a fantastic combined heritage of animal and wildlife welfare here in the North East, and we’re looking forward to hosting even more beerelated events in the future.”
Ian Campbell, chairman of Newcastle & District Beekeepers Association, said that for centuries beekeeping had been an important activity for the production of honey itself and as a core ingredient for mead, and for bees wax for candles.
Now bees are increasingly valued for their essential role as pollinators.
He said: ”Most members will have three or four hives and will produce honey for themselves, family and friends.
“Hives are kept in a huge range of places, including two on the roof of the Fenwick’s store in Newcastle. “There are a lot of beekeepers in the UK and the stereotype used to be of a bearded, slightly older gentleman, but that picture is now much more diverse with women and younger people keeping bees. “Members are asked to take a hive into schools to show pupils how thousands of bees organise themselves, which is fascinating.”
The association’s records show that in July 1922, “a truck was engaged from the North Eastern Railway Company for the collection and transport of members’ bees to the heather.” More than 30 hives were collected.
Beefest entry for adults is £3. Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter is located at Benton North Farm Cottage, Benton Lane, Longbenton, Newcastle NE12 8EH
What a fantastic combined heritage of animal and wildlife welfare here in the North East
Chris Bray