Spring kept us and our bees busy

This Spring seasons’ Blog is about road trips to Byron Bay, Macadamia honey, bee pollen, spring training for new beekeepers, and installation of a gorgeous bee & flower themed window display for Biome. Phew: we have been busy!

Training for New Beekeepers

It has been our great pleasure at Bee One Third to educate a crop of new beekeepers for the 2020 season. Jack, Kathy and Jade hosted an enlightening experience that tempted the tastebuds on a midweek evening at Bee One Third (course 1), followed by a two day weekend practical hands on course (course 2) in the field and the factory with Jack and Kathy. Between them, the training team have over 16 years beekeeping experience and have trained something like 300 people in basic backyard beekeeping skills and principles.

In early 2021, for those of you who are keen to get into beekeeping, we have prepared another round of our courses 1 and 2. Go to our Education section on the website here to grab a ticket (hurry up, places are limited!). And stay tuned because we are gearing up to offer course 3: Advanced Beekeeping Skills.

Course 1 is aimed at those who have been contemplating stepping into the world of hobby beekeeping, but do not know where to begin. There is much to learn and consider before leaping into this fascinating and self-sustaining hobby. Course 1 provides an opportunity to come hang out with us at Bee One Third’s honey hub to relax and yarn about why backyard beekeeping is good for you and your local community. Course 1 is set on a midweek evening and is designed to help you learn about what is involved in the art and science of backyard recreational beekeeping in South East Queensland, the commitments, costs and benefits for your neighbourhood.

Course 2 gives an initiation to the world of backyard beekeeping. Across the weekend you will experience 8 hours of theory and practical instruction on to what to expect in the first year of beekeeping. Course 2 is a hands-on intensive experience class where participants will interact with live honeybees in a working beehive, conducting seasonal tasks typical for a backyard beekeeping operation, and will handle honey and wax processing in the Bee One Third factory. Personal Protective Equipment will be loaned for use on the course and industry-standard resources are supplied so that you are well set on your way to becoming a successful beekeeper yourself.

Now we don’t usually like to brag, but the course 1 reviews are in and looks like we have some happy customers: “I've been waiting to learn more about bees from the amazing beekeepers and it was worth their weight in royal jelly. Their knowledge, expertise, and passion shines through the presentation as the team deliver their knowledge in an easy to understand platform. If you have an interest in Bees, beekeeping or just want to learn more about these fascinating creatures, this is a great place to continue to learn from the best in the business”. Naww, thanks!! Lotsa love.

Installation of a themed window display for Biome

Recently Jack and Ani from @thestonewillowstudio installed a gorgeous bee & flower themed window display for Biome’s CBD store, on Adelaide St, Brisbane City.

The beautiful collaborative display by @thestonewillowstudio and @beeonethird has been up for a little over three weeks, have you had the pleasure of seeing it?

Biome Eco Stores is one of Australia's leading planet and people-friendly retail businesses with both an online store and six physical stores across Brisbane, Southport and Melbourne. ⁠⠀

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@biomestores vision is to preserve a safe, healthy environment on this wonderous planet for now, and for those who come after us. Naturally, Bee One Third are thrilled to bits to support Biome Eco Stores, and thankful to have our range stocked across their stores both physical and online.

We encourage you to get along and support business with sustainability at heart, who support us to support your local pollinators.⁠

Spring Macadamia Pollination Job

Well it has been a busy springtime for us so far. Amazing 6 weeks of learning, working weekends, driving across borders, sleeping in swags, reacquainting with old friends, knocking down swarm cells (every 7 days!) and loving every second of it.

Jack and the team have been road tripping bees along the coast down to Byron Bay area to harvest the beautiful Macadamia flower and local meadow flower honey. Macadamia flower is a fantastic source of food for bees, providing a much needed boost coming out of a rather dry Winter. Macadamia is a native to this part of the world, Northern Rivers NSW and SE QLD.

Border checkpoints are a breeze when you have a big sign on the dashboard saying LIVE BEES, nobody seems to mind letting us through to do what we must do.

After a few weeks, we have seen our beautiful bees flourish and thrive in this environment. The bees have built up stores from the nectar on and around the Macadamia farms, and we bring them back up to the Gold Coast to chillax again.

Bringing Pollen Back

Bee pollen is back in stock and makes a great little gift or healthy addition to the festive food pantry. Pollen can be used in cooking or dressing food, as a health supplement, or a unique flavour profile for deserts, festive pastries or chilled out cocktails. Get creative! Sure, anyone can throw a bit of bee pollen into a smoothie bowl - ppfftt that’s child’s play. But guess what: you can add pollen to your coffee as a sweetener instead of sugar (mind BLOWN). With a subtle grassy flavour and all the nutrients, proteins and minerals needed to support pollination, as you can imagine, bee pollen is a very special substance. Pollen can contain Vitamin C and Thiamin (B1) which contribute to cardiovascular health, and Vitamin C which supports the immune system, as well as Vitamin B6 to support energy and hormonal balance. Here’s another one: pop a cup of corn kernels to make fresh popcorn, drizzle with runny honey and sprinkle a pinch of bee pollen on top. Possibilities are endless.