Newbury & District Beekeepers’ Association

Newbury& District Beekeepers’ Association

The Association is a registered charity, number 1016603. Its objectives are to improve the practice and science of apiculture for the public benefit, in particular to:

Encourage beekeeping on efficient and up-to-date principles

Control and eradicate bee disease

Advise member beekeepers in the management of their apiaries

Organize and hold exhibitions of bees, honey and beekeeping equipment

Arrange meetings of members for practical instruction, for education by means of lectures and to encourage the craft of beekeeping.

Benefits for the established beekeeper:

Insurance	Public liability for all members. Special bee disease insurance.
Bulk Purchase	Honey jars, wax foundation, frames and materials for treating parasites are procured at discounted rates.
Equipment Hire	Extractor, Pratley tray, Burco boiler, refractometer, microscopes and observation hive. Display equipment for mounting exhibition stands is available on loan.
Library	Comprehensive library about all aspects of beekeeping including slides and videos.
Spray Warnings	Central system for disseminating crop spray warnings.
BBKA	The national association encourages best practices in beekeeping, promotes research on bees and extends support to beekeepers.
Bee health	The National Bee Unit (part of Central Science Laboratory, part of DEFRA) maintains the bee health inspectorate and the BeeBase database. Our regional Bee Inspector is Ian Homer (phone 01308-482161) and our Seasonal Bee Inspector is Robert Carpenter-Turner (phone 01672-852265).

Benefits for the new beekeeper:

Setting up	Help with setting up a new apiary.
Handling bees	Bees can be handled at summer meetings. There are also special beginners' meetings in the spring.
Assistance	Experienced members of the Association are always willing to help new beekeepers.

Meetings:

April to September	Monthly on a week-end afternoon, at members’ apiaries with talks and demonstrations. Some examples are: Dadant hives. Mininucs. Plant sale. Diagnosis and treatment of bee diseases. Wax extracting. First Aid.
October to March	Monthly at 7:30 pm on a Friday, in Newbury. Visiting lecturers and demonstrations or social events. Some examples are: Candle making. Bees abroad. Display of produce. Falconry. Biological control of varroa.

Subscription rates, year 2010, due on 1st January

Registered Member	£25.00
Registered Partner	£14.24
Associate Member	£9.00
Associate Partner	£3.00

The above subscription rates do not include Bee Craft, which may be ordered via the Membership Secretary. NDBKA is affiliated to the BBKA.
Bee Disease Insurance
Registered Member subscriptions automatically include Bee Disease Insurance (for European Foulbrood and American Founbrood) for three colonies. For more than three colonies, please enquire from the Membership Secretary. Under BDI rules, if you are under-insured any claim you make may be invalidated.

For membership details e-mail Karin Hall the Membership Secretary.

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Programme 2009/2010

Updated 19 July 2009