The Natural Beekeeping Trust aims to promote awareness of sustainable beekeeping which is determined by our understanding of the essential needs of the bees.
The founders of the Trust believe that encouraging bee guardianship as well as fostering an interest in organic/biodynamic agriculture and gardening will make a major contribution to ensuring the long term health of the honeybee. Husbandry approaches advocated by the Trust are based on allowing bees to express their instincts fully through swarming, presence of drones, overwintering on honey, as well as taking due care to support colonies’ brood nest warmth maintenance.
Respecting the colony’s need to keep its broodnest at a constant temperature is one of the cornerstones of natural beekeeping, and from this it may be inferred that routine inspections of the nest are not advocated. This, however, does not equate with ‘leave-alone’ beekeeping as observational skills must be developed to a high degree in order to monitor colony health.
More details may be found in the Guidance Notes which are available on request. Please also read our article “Why Natural Beekeeping?” for more information about our approach.
We are based at Plaw Hatch Farm, a biodynamic farm in Sussex where we are working on developing a “sanctuary” for bees. We also maintain a “Bee Garden” in Ashurstwood, Sussex, which is open to visitors by arrangement.
We offer courses in natural beekeeping based on biodynamics, and talks and workshops in other locations. If there is interest in sustainable beekeeping in your area please email us at info@naturalbeekeeping.org.
We would encourage anyone starting with bees to seriously consider training in natural beekeeping, which is invariably grounded in an attitude of respect for the natural world and its most important and vital representative, the honeybee.
The Trust collects information and research on methods which accord with the aims stated above, and welcomes submissions of information of interest through info@naturalbeekeeptingtrust.org.
The Trustees are indebted to Dr. Rudolf Steiner, whose insights into the nature and importance of bees provide much inspiration.
Natural Beekeeping courses are also offered by Phil Chandler of biobees.com as well as the team at beesfordevelopment.org.
For further information about biodynamics please visit www.biodynamic.org.uk
News
Spirit of the Beehive on Pick of the Year, BBC Radio 4, 31 December 2011
Spirit of the Beehive will feature in Pick of the Year on BBC Radio 4 on 31 December 2011.
The programme - a composed feature exploring the mysterious ‘world of bees’ – was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 2 September 2011 and featured Heidi Herrmann, a Founder Trustee of the Natural Beekeeping Trust.
More information about Pick of the Year is available on the Radio 4 website.
Read about Spirit of the Beehive on the Radio 4 Blog.
Read the Spirit of the Beehive production blog.
Queen of the Sun screening, 19 February 2012
Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? is being shown following a workshop on bee-friendly biodynamic gardening at Rudolf Steiner House in London on 19 February 2012. Heidi Herrmann, Founder Trustee of the Natural Beekeeping Trust, will participate in a panel discussion after the screening.
For further details, please visit the Rudolf Steiner House website or telephone 020 7723 4400.
British premiere of Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? at the 2011 Biodynamic Association Conference
Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? was shown publicly in the UK for the first time at the Biodynamic Association Conference at Emerson College, Sussex, on 11 November 2011.
Described as “revelatory” by The New York Times, this award-winning film is an in-depth investigation to discover the causes and solutions behind Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomenon where honeybees vanish from their hives without explanation, never to return.
The story focuses on biodynamic and organic communities around the world and examines the global bee crisis through the eyes of beekeepers, scientists, farmers and philosophers who keep bees in natural and holistic ways.
Watch a trailer of Queen of the Sun
Read more about the film
Read a review of the film in the Biodynamic Association magazine Star and Furrow
Find out more about hosting a community screening in your area
