West Norfolk and King's Lynn Beekeepers Association creates a buzz around bee weekend in Downham Market, support for bee-keepers in Sierra Leone with Bees Abroad

Downham's home and garden store is collaborating with the West Norfolk Beekeepers Association(WNKLBA) to bring a buzz to the bee weekend.

The event will be held at the Bexwell Road store on June 18 and 19 for the first time.

The WNKLBA usually hold their annual honey show at the Sandringham Flower Show, but after two cancellations the society began to look for an alternative venue and the Downham home and garden centre agreed to help.

Last year, the honey show was held at the site, and was a roaring success.

This year, the group will be raising awareness about the Bees Abroad project. Bees Abroad supports farmers and beekeepers in third world countries such as Africa.

Several members from the WNKLBA are also members of Bees Abroad and have relationships with bee-keepers in other parts of the world.

Some beekeepers in Sierra Leone, which is part of Bees Abroad's awareness program, lost limbs during the civil war yet still continue to keep and farm bees to support their families.

Bees Abroad is working with Sierra Leone Amputee Sports Association and Sierra Leone Permaculture and Agro-ecological Farm to provide beekeeping training in conjunction with sustainable agricultural training on a specially adapted farm. The project will increase awareness for rural changemakers on ecological, conservational and environmental issues within the local context.

WNKLBA member Phil Cane said:"The event allowed members to showcase their passion for beekeeping and display their produce, which is the result of an age-old relationship between beekeeper and bee.

"The show was so successful that we have decided to repeat the beekeeping exhibition this year, although the Honey Show will revert to its ancestral home at the Sandringham Flower Show on the July 27.

"This years’ event at the Downham Home and Garden store will be free to the public for both days and held in a marquee. People interested in beekeeping will be able to learn about what it takes to become a beekeeper through interactive displays of the craft and all its associated equipment.

"Displays will include; live bees in ‘observation hives’ which will allow people to get up close to observe what goes on in a bee colony in a perfectly safe way, horticultural displays,identifying those plants which are beneficial to honey bees and other pollinating insects,and a variety of beekeeping paraphernalia with displays including ‘from the hive to the jar’.

Videos showing the upkeep and maintenance of the equipment need to run an apiary and the processing of beeswax including some of the products made from it."

Members of WNKLBA will be on hand to explain all of the processes and displays and there will be the opportunity to purchase honey produced at our local training apiary, the proceeds of which is all fed back into the running of the apiary, which this year has seen 48 new beekeepers begin their journey into our fascinating craft.

One aspect of this years’ event will be a fundraising raffle in support of Bees Abroad.