Category Archives: ONBG

ONBG meeting, March 2023 – new year, new lessons

Twenty people convened at Gilliane’s to share thoughts on bees, and rather a lot of food. A recurring theme was winter mortality and factors affecting this: weather, hive design and climate change. Greeting and eating Food is a marvellous social … Continue reading

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ONBG Meeting, October 2022 – 10th anniversary gathering

On a mild autumnal day, 14 happy beekeepers attended our 10th birthday gathering – yes, Oxfordshire Natural Beekeeping Group has now been around for a decade! This could only mean one thing – lots of cake! Oh and bees. Highlights … Continue reading

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ONBG meeting, June 2022 – Unlearning beekeeping

25 folk gathered at Gareth’s rural apiary to listen and learn from his 50 years’ experience and experimentation. We were honoured to be joined by Filipe Salbany (of Blenheim Woods fame) with a different set of 50 years’ experience, and … Continue reading

Posted in Apiary visits, Ecology, Hives, Log hive, Meetings, ONBG, Skeps, Sun Hive, Swarms, TBH, Warré | Tagged | 2 Comments

ONBG meeting, May 2022 – A Swarmy Bee Tea at Dee

Jane’s fabulous apiary at Dee Cottage isn’t just the prettiest cottage garden in Oxford, it also features several really unusual hives: an alveary, cathedral hive, freedom hive and also a couple of more standard TBHs. The agenda was to inspect … Continue reading

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The Sideboard Bees

~ By our Norfolk correspondent, Jan ~ Many of you know that I volunteered to be a swarm collector a few seasons ago: I’m not fearful of the bees and thought if I could help save some – before a … Continue reading

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ONBG meeting April 2022 – swarm prep

18 bee-folk gathered at Paul’s out-apiary to discuss catching and hiving swarms, inspect TBHs and picnic and gabble about bees. Other topics were winter losses, the 2023 Learning from the Bees conference and mushrooms.

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ONBG meeting, 1st August 2021 – out-apiaries and TBHs

20 of us picnicked at an out-apiary in rural Oxfordshire, to network, observe horizontal Top Bar Hive inspections and discuss the practicalities of out-apiaries. This out-apiary is sited in a corner of a small estate, whose owners are very committed … Continue reading

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