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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, NOVEMBER 2016
NEWS FROM THE DEEP SOUTH HOBBYISTS’ CORNER
Murray Christensen, President, Southland Bee Society (SBS)
They say time waits for no one and the cold wintery months have flown by. We are now enjoying some lovely warm spring weather down here—not at all like our typical southern springs. No doubt we will pay for it sooner or later. Let us hope it’s not in December or January.
Southland Bee Society AGM Hardy southern souls turned out on a cold wintery July night for our second AGM and now into our third year, we continue to grow our membership and our profile. As we form alliances and partnerships with like-minded organisations, we increase our ability to influence and educate the public on matters of bee welfare and the environment. SBS willow project During the colder months the Southland Bee Society planted out our willow propagation beds with about 1000 cuttings of eight different willows that are all leafing up nicely now. We are hoping that the giant willow aphid research gets some traction and produces a control sooner rather than later. We have buddied up to Environment Southland’s Land Sustainability team as a marketing avenue for the trees when they are ready to plant out, and prospects are looking very positive. Southland Environment Awards SBS picked up an award at the Southland Community Environment Awards night, of which we are immensely proud. The awards dinner was quite an occasion and it was great to see all the wonderful environmental projects that are being carried out in our region. Bee Aware Month Bee Aware Month has come and gone again. SBS was active throughout the month, starting with an outing at the Invercargill Eco Fest where we held our usual stall and ran our ‘Introduction to beekeeping’ workshop. Next we turned out with our annual ‘Planting for bees and looking after bees’ workshop at Nichol’s Garden Centre later in the month. This event targets gardeners and hobby farmers. Nichol’s promotes the event each
year and it is always well attended. Both parties benefit from the publicity as do the bees. SBS then joined forces with the Southland Community Nursery to hold a workshop on ‘How to bee-friendly in your backyard’. The theme targeted families and kids with some fun educational activities as a change from what we normally roll out. As with all of our public outings, the honey tasting and the display bee hive proved very popular. Taratahi training course It is pleasing to have Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre providing the NZ Certificate in Apiculture Level 3 in Invercargill, as well as in other locations throughout the country. This certificate helps to turn out the beekeepers of the future, not to mention members for the SBS and ApiNZ. The Invercargill course has started for the season and the students will develop their skills as the season rolls along. Bee-friendly flowering plants guide Our new SBS bee-friendly flowering plants guide and tips for bee-friendly gardening are available for download from our website, www.southlandbeesociety.nz
Murray Christensen talks about threats to bees at the BAM event held at Nichol's Garden Centre. Photo: Sonya Crook.
Murray Buchanan explains about the Virtual Bee Hive display. Photo: Pat Hoffmann.
Best wishes for the season ahead.
[Editor’s note: congratulations to the SBS for winning an award at the Southland Community Environment Awards and for their excellent work in educating the community.]
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