Valley Bees held their inaugural public meeting at Kandanga Public Hall on 13 February 2011.
An expected 20-plus crowd of bee enthusiasts (and wanna-bees) quickly turned into an 80-plus crowd, putting smiles on the faces of the organisers. A surprising turn-out for a hot, sticky Sunday afternoon. But well worth it. And thanks to all the Gympie Permies that showed up in force for support. Athol launched the project, calling together people concerned with the need to conserve all bees (domestic and native) for the health of our environment and on-going food supply. Also attending was Chris Fuller, from Kin Kin Native bees, who show cased numerous native bee boxes and nesting set-ups to encourage both solitary and social native bees, like the blue-banded bee, resin, carpenter, green metallic and leaf cutter bees. He also shared information and advice on the better known social native bee, the small black trigonia stingless bee.
He also pointed out that the Gympie Landcare nursery is the place to get the best selection of local native flowering plants to support these local native bee populations.
Valley Bees continued to have informal meetings at Kandanga on the 2nd Sunday afternoon of the month, while the Steering
Committee worked out the best organisational model for the group.
And so Valley Bees Community was born.
Valley Bees
- includes people specialising in native bees, in honeybees, and in both.
- meets regulary, and holds field days and outdoor demonstrations throughout the year.
- invites speakers to share their knowledge, expertise and passion.
- will prepare lists of plants and trees in our local area to attract pollinators to our gardens.
- supports those who want to manage small numbers of bees on their properties.
- embraces a collective wisdom of enthusiasts and members of the community alike.
expresses the specific areas of the value of all bees in regards to the health of our environment. - advises on issues and topics that will make a difference!
- recognises the value of mutual support gained from the membership of a group of people with common interests.
By participating in the activities of these groups, members benefit in their own lives, and contribute to their community.
Our Valley Bees Vision Statement is
- to preserve and provide further habitat for all bees. This is achieved by providing suitable nesting habitat – both natural and managed.
- to protect all bees from pests, diseases and environmental deprivation.
- to provide services for pollination.
- to harvest excess stores for human consumption.
Valley Bees Auspice
The Valley Bees Group falls under the auspice of the MRCCC – Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee.
USEFUL LINKS
If you have any questions about joining our club or buying a bee hive, native hive or flow hive please contact us on valleybeesgympie@gmail.com
Our Valley Bees Committee
Chairperson – Pauline Alexander
Vice Chairs – Rolly Wood & Julie Thompson
Treasurer – Maree Hannon – mjhannon57@gmail.com
Media and Design – Glenbo Craig
Honeybee Sessions Landcare – Vic Finney
Honeybee Sessions Honeybee Farm – Mark Hannon
Native Bees – Peter Velenski
Flow Hive – Maree and Mark Hannon
Patron – Athol Craig
Flow Hive Enquiries
Maree and Mark Hannon – flowvalleybees2@gmail.com
Valley Bees . . . for the experienced, and the wanna-bees!
