WitneyBees

A friendly group of new and experienced beekeepers in and around West Oxfordshire concerned with all bee issues and better beekeeping.  The focus is on the understanding of honey bees, education and hands on teaching.

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We meet regularly throughout the year either visiting members' apiaries during the height of the season or for lectures and courses during the quieter months.

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This group is primarily a network for information sharing and informal mentoring.  No matter your level of beekeeping experience, you are most welcome to join.  Please use the contact us form to get in touch.

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Witney Bees is an organisation whose objectives are to:

 

1. Promote the craft of keeping of honey bees

2. Provide education and practical support to enhance the standard of beekeeping husbandry

3. Provide education and practical support to enhance the quantity and quality of forage available to honey bees and other pollinators

4. Raise public awareness of the importance of honey bees to the environment and the economy.

 

We believe in a responsible style of beekeeping that:

 

• Treats the bee colony as a complete organism

• Minimises intrusions into the colony

• Allows the bees’ own swarming impulses to determine reproduction

• Overwinters colonies on their own honey

• Maintains colony density at a level appropriate to local forage conditions

• Does not involve the use of chemicals.

 

These principles can be applied using almost any type of hive.

 

We are committed to making the world a better place for pollinators by:

 

• Creating more pollinator-friendly habitats

• By discouraging the use of ‘pesticides’

• Planting and encouraging native, flowering plants

• Encouraging beekeepers to adopt more ‘nature-friendly’ methods

• Promoting the use of native, or near-native bees, and discouraging imports.

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