BeekeepersBBKA Learning Online BBKA News Archive Magazines BBKA Forum Welcome to the 'Beekeepers' area which contains restricted content specifically for our beekeeping community. Here you will find a wide range of resources and information to support existing BBKA members and Associations.Select from the additional menu bar above the banner image. If you aren't already a BBKA member then you can explore your options to 'Become a Member' BBKA Executive and Office Education Examinations Membership Member & Association Resources Members' News Research Members Fundraise Studying bees adds significantly to the wider education of pupils Bees are pollinators vital to our food chain. One third of the food we eat would not be available but for bees.Bees, like other insects, are part of a food chain. The social life of the honey bee colony provides a controversial start to thinking about the structure of societies.The tools which have evolved on the limbs and mouthparts of bees are neat examples of adaptation and engineering. The harvest from honey bees of honey, pollen, wax and propolis has nutritional, craft, manufacturing, and medical applications. Pollination by bees is important for genetic sustainability. Genes that have evolved in other animals are important to our future, too. In the UK about 70 crops are dependent on, or benefit from, visits from bees. In addition, bees pollinate the flowers of many plants which become part of the feed of farm animals. The economic value of honey bees and bumble bees as pollinators of commercially grown insect pollinated crops in the UK has been estimated at over £200 million per year. Bees are in danger of disappearing from our environment. Farming practices continue to disturb the natural habitats and forage of solitary bees and bumblebees at a rate which gives them little chance for re-establishment. The honey bee is under attack from the varroa mite and it is only the treatment and care provided by beekeepers that is keeping colonies alive. Most wild honey bee colonies have died out as a result of this disease. These factors, coupled with a decline in the number of beekeepers in the UK, have prompted the production of the 'Bees in the Curriculum' Schools pack by the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA). Attitudes to bees must change and a new generation needs to be educated into the value of bees and the threats to their existence. You can donate to our central BBKA schools fund and help us get hives onsite into schools. Our uptake with Schools Members has been steady but as we grow we want to be able to allow as many school as possible on board without them feeling prohibited by the cost of amassing the right equipment. Get in touch with [email protected] for help with ideas and information and help us with our schools mission today. Manage Cookie Preferences