PODCAST EPSIODE 71: Bron Barton, President of the South Gippsland Beekeeper Club, Korumburra
With the rise of bees in the consciousness of the public as people come to realise their role as the world’s most vital pollinators, beekeeping clubs have also risen in popularity. Beekeeping clubs offer a range of amazing resources for new and professional beekeepers, but they are especially useful for those just starting out or traversing the early stages of their hobby or career. With COVID-19 bringing a halt to some face-to-face activities and club sessions, beekeeping clubs are finding new ways to connect with their members while we wait patiently for life in much of Australia to open back up. It’s important for the bees, but also for our mental health, to keep connecting with others about things you love, and I have seen how beekeeping clubs have brought incredible joy and belonging to so many people over the years. For this love of beekeeping clubs, I am delighted to bring Bron Barton, President of the South Gippsland Beekeeper Club to you for episode 71 of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast.
Reflecting on a fantastic piece of writing by Bron from 2016, the third season of the South Gippsland Beekeeper Club is a “tale of sadness, excitement, thrills and eventual triumph”. Bron is candid about the ups and downs of the season, describing it as “quite a mixed bag” of experiences. There were huge swarms that would “surprise and shock even the most experienced and hardened beekeepers”. Bron’s incredible sense of humour shines through as she describes the Italian bees, who had been feasting on Chianti and Bolognese, that took off in droves with “Squeals of laughter and loud rambunctious raspberries were blown as they flew away again and again and again!” As Bron and Mr B – the two “Grand Poobahs of Ineptitude” – check in on two apiaries to see how their colonies are faring, readers are taken on a wild ride. There is much learning that happens along the way (not to mention a sting or two) – a delightful and hilarious account of the everyday experience of learning to keep bees.
Tune in to hear Bron and I chat about the importance of beekeeping clubs, her role as the President of the South Gippsland Beekeeper Club, how she started keeping bees, and why bee education is so vital to the health of the planet and the joy of humans.
http://www.southgippslandbeekeepers.org.au