A few weekends ago, as Melbourne took its first tentative steps towards Spring, a group of Dumbo Feather readers gathered in our ballroom to learn about the wonder of urban beekeeping. Amongst them was Dumbo Feather’s beloved finance guy Simon, who capitulated totally to the charms of the humble honeybee. As I hovered a safe distance back with a camera, Simon reached into our garden hive with his bare hands, and emerged victoriously unstung (though covered with bees). These days he haunts the roof, glimmering blue-white in the strengthening sun, and generally driving the rest of us mad with bee-related trivia. We asked him for his account of our Beevent: read on for an unconventional love story between a finance guy and some bees. –Jessica
Hello, dumbofeather.com world! For those of you who don’t know me, I am Simon, the Chief Finance Guy here at Dumbo Feather & Small Giants. Those of you who do know me are probably expecting me to go on and on about budgets and invoicing, but no; today I am here to talk about bees!
After Dumbo profiled Mat & Vanessa from Rooftop Honey in Issue 28, the guys at Dumbo decided to team up with our new bee friends to hold an ‘Introduction to Beekeeping’ workshop at our home in St Kilda. I hadn’t really paid that much attention to the bee craze that was taking over the office—I always thought that I would never be able to keep bees, so why get excited? It wasn’t until the day of the course that our boss Dan called me with a spare ticket asking if I wanted to come; it was a beautiful sunny day, so I readily accepted an opportunity to spend the day in the garden.
The beekeeping course started like most educational days: some nice slides, lots of questions, and lots of different honeys from around Melbourne to taste. Mat and Vanessa’s passion for bees was quickly evident, and it became clear why: bees are absolutely essential to our ecosystem! We learnt the basics of why bees are important (they make it possible to grow 1/3 of what we eat), and what challenges bees are facing in a world of GM crops and disease.
Soon enough it was time to get on the roof (that’s where the hives are) and get into it. Keen to make the most of the day I was one of the first volunteers to don the white bee suit and get into the hives. Once in the hives, the other reason why Mat and Vanessa fell for bees became clear: they are incredible. I was immediately struck by how peaceful, inquisitive, and intelligent the honeybee is. It’s one thing to read and hear about the complex world of the honeybee, but until I saw it in action I had no appreciation for how advanced they are. (I am currently reading a book called The Honey Bee Democracy about this very topic.)
As the afternoon progressed, we were treated to some amazing honey-based treats from Amber at Dumbo and we got to hear more about the day-to-day of keeping bees. I was surprised by how unobtrusive rooftop beehives are; most people will never know they are there! One of the important points that Mat and Vanessa made clear about beekeeping is that whilst it is fairly low-maintenance, regular maintenance is crucial to ensuring a healthy hive and making sure they do not swarm. Swarming is a natural and harmless occurrence, but being a responsible beekeeper means controlling this so that a swarm does not end up on your neighbour’s roof. (Although if it does, call a beekeeper to come get it, don’t call pest control!)
Towards the end of the day it was hands-on time again. Some people suited up, and we went to our second hive, located in the garden. Again I was struck by how calm the bees were, and when Mat asked if anyone wanted to handle the hive themselves I was quick to put up my hand. If I wasn’t completely mesmerized by the bees I would have remembered that I wasn’t one of the few with bee suits on, but that didn’t seem to matter—I knew I wasn’t going to get stung, and if I did, it would not have been malicious, just self defense. It was such a thrill to handle the bees barehanded and to feel them interact with my hand without aggression—fairly amazing seeing this giant person had opened the roof of their home!
I can honestly say that this course has changed my life—our bees are really part of our family here at the White House, and everyone in our building has benefitted from having them around. This course also taught us how achievable inner city beekeeping is, and how important it is. If you would like to learn more about bees or beekeeping have a look at Mat and Vanessa’s website, or pick up The Bee Book by Ann Cliff. And stay tuned for more Introductory Beekeeping Courses, and more updates on our new family members.
Simon
Comments
Mish 21 Oct 10:15AM
Loved Simon's little article and the amazing photos ! I wish I had of been able to attend this event - I just hope Dumbo run another one soon, as I'll be first to sign up.
Adios,
M
Danny 23 Oct 12:34AM
I work with simon and can attest to the bees changing his life. He even attended his first bee club meeting last week. Simon, how about making that honey ice cream recipe from issue 28 and bringing it into the office for us to taste.
Brad Dunn 24 Oct 4:12PM
Great post :)
Vanessa 26 Oct 11:28AM
We had such a wonderful time with all the people at the Dumbo Feather event. Simon has certainly fallen in love with the honey bee! The more bee stewards the better we say, thanks for helping us put on such a brilliant event.