![]() I guess what this shows is that, no matter if you're a 9-hole golf course or a director of a 54-hole complex, we can all do our bit to help the decline in bees and improve the ecology of our golf courses. I was also able to point out to Daniel the important role trees play for pollinating insects. I was given a tour of the Brabazon course by Daniel and we talked about other sites where wildflower areas could be created. Over the course of the year, I kept in contact with Angus on the progress of the two hives, and I am pleased to report that, not only did both settle down and build strong colonies but, all their hard work was rewarded with 17 kilos of honey for them to extract well done lads. ![]() You may recall from the Belfry article in the last issue that they, unusually, had two queens in one hive and none in the other. The hospitality I was shown by Angus and the two greenkeepers who looked after the bees - Terry Jessef and Daniel Clarke - was fantastic and, after breakfast, we were able to sort out his bee hives. One - Angus Macleod, Director of Golf Courses at The Belfry - invited me down for a tour and to look at the bee hives they already had on their course. ![]() The response I had from other greenkeepers was overwhelming. So, using the BIGGA bulletin board and Facebook, I started to share my passion for beekeeping and the honey bee. Maybe, just maybe, other greenkeepers would be interested in the subject of beekeeping and keeping bees on a golf course. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, as Steve has been a pioneer within the greenkeeping industry regarding the ecology side of golf which, in turn, has seen his course win a number of environmental awards.Īnd that's when the penny dropped. Apparently, he was fascinated by what I was doing with the bee hives. It wasn't until one afternoon, when I was playing golf at Wilmslow Golf Club with my close friend Tim Johnson, the club's senior greenkeeper, that their course manager, Steve Oultram caught up with us as we were walking off the 17th green. What I can tell you is that, after half an hour or so, I was hooked.īut, even though I was reading all these articles about creating areas for wildlife, I really didn't think anyone would be interested in beekeeping. Yes, twelve! I would love to tell you how I felt, but I am afraid it's not printable. Then she 'kindly' put me in the middle of, not one or two, or even three, but twelve hives. "The best way to learn is to get involved," she replied. She proceeded to clothe me in a bee suit. I arrived at an old, closed down school where I was greeted by a lovely lady who said "the apiary is this way". After speaking with a very helpful lady, she eventually invited me to meet her for a chat. One thing that did grab my attention was a website for the BBKA (British Beekeepers Association) and, from here, I was able to get the contact details of the local association. I also typed in 'decline of bees' in search engines and this just blew my mind. I started off by reading articles about the successes of Syngenta's Operation Pollinator. So, behind the scenes, I set out to find out more why are bees in decline and what could greenkeepers do about it, if anything at all? I have tried to take every opportunity to learn more about the ecology side of our golf courses, learning from articles published in Greenkeeper International and Pitchcare magazines, bulletin boards, using social media sites and, of course, speaking to other course managers up and down the country.īut, for some reason, the subject of the decline in bees just kept grabbing my attention. For so many years now, I have been fascinated by the work that other greenkeepers and course managers have been undertaking on their golf courses in creating areas for wildlife, whether it be putting up bird, bat or owl boxes, tree planting schemes or creating wildflower areas and meadows.
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