Fulham Palace Trust
Since 704 Fulham Palace has been the historic house and garden of the Bishop of London. Our vision is to engage people and provide an insight, through the stories of the Bishops of London, into over 1300 years of English history, and to become one of Great Britain's most loved and inspiring historic houses and gardens.
Description
Our volunteer beekeepers are part of a team who look after the beehives in the Walled Garden at Fulham Palace. We usually have up to four beehives at the Palace which produce award-winning honey! A key part of the role is to carry out hive inspections, as well as numerous opportunities to help with family event days and educational activities to inspire the next generation of beekeepers!
What’s in it for you?
- A chance to learn all aspects of beekeeping and honey production
- You will be mentored by Fulham Palace’s experienced beekeepers
- Hands on experience in a botanical garden setting
- You will be encouraged to pass the Bee Basic exam and so may need to be willing to do some formal study.
- Being a part of a small, dynamic and dedicated team
- To be involved with a positive and engaging volunteer culture including social events, outings, forums and our volunteer portal - where volunteers are able to contribute blogs posts; join in discussions with other volunteers, sign up to sessions and access all the information you need as a volunteer online
- References for people who volunteer with us regularly for more than 6 months
Duties
What’s involved?
- From March to September bee keepers are required to be there for weekly inspections, on Tuesdays at 1:30pm, where the health and welfare of the bees is checked
- From time to time, swarm control is implemented, and the beekeepers are on call in case of swarms or other problems
- There is a fair amount of physical work involved with the lifting and moving of bee equipment
- The honey harvest takes place in late summer
- The beekeeping team also gets involved with Palace events, such as Apple day in October, the Green meet in May and other family educational days
- From October to March there are occasional inspections on Tuesdays
- Bee keepers are expected to commit for a minimum of 6 months
Who will the volunteers be working with?
Other beekeeper volunteers and garden members of staff
Training
• Full induction including health and safety procedure
• New bee keepers will be mentored by the existing bee keeper team.
• It is desirable, but not essential to have already completed the London Beekeepers Association training course.
• All new volunteers have an introduction period, this is a settling in time of around 6 weeks. At the end of this the volunteer development officer will catch up with you; this is an opportunity for both parties to reflect and make any adjustments to the role that are needed
• Access to our volunteer’s website, the ‘Volunteer Portal’, including a blog, downloadable resources, rota and events page
• New bee keepers will be mentored by the existing bee keeper team.
• It is desirable, but not essential to have already completed the London Beekeepers Association training course.
• All new volunteers have an introduction period, this is a settling in time of around 6 weeks. At the end of this the volunteer development officer will catch up with you; this is an opportunity for both parties to reflect and make any adjustments to the role that are needed
• Access to our volunteer’s website, the ‘Volunteer Portal’, including a blog, downloadable resources, rota and events page
Time commitment
Volunteers must be available on Tuesdays. The time commitment is especially regular throughout the spring and summer, and usually from 1:30 – 3:30pm. Occasionally, the beekeepers meet at other times, if necessary