It was World Bee Day on 20 May. The theme for World Bee Day is ”Bee together for People and Planet – A partnership that sustains us all”.
To celebrate this day at our BBC4thSATURDAY event on 25 May, we hosted Lourens and Dylan Kruger from the Cape Honey Bee Conservancy.
May was a tough month for many residents of Betty’s Bay after the severe storm left damaged houses in its wake and no water and electricity in certain areas. We decided to make this “Bee and Tea” a light-hearted event. We added cheerful yellow flowers and serviettes to our colour scheme, invited people to wear their favourite, fun or gardening hat and had a ’bring and share’ tea afterwards.
Louren and Dylan began their journey into beekeeping after a swarm of bees made a home in an owl box in their garden. They founded the Cape Honey Bee Conservancy (CHBC) in 2018. The Cape Honeybee (Apis mellifera capensis) is only found in the Western Cape.
In 2022, after helping to remove a swarm from the gardens at Helderberg Hospice, the CHBC embraced the Hospice as their social responsibility. Every October they donate their bee removal income to them. They want to spread their support of Hospice, with a vision to help establish a Palliative Care Unit at Overstrand Hospice.
They want to develop relationships with farmers – built on trust, collaboration and a shared commitment to conservation. They also strive to educate communities about reducing pesticide use and choosing safer alternatives that protect pollinators.
“We are simply custodians of God’s creation, privileged to serve as beekeepers.
For us, this is not a hobby – it is a calling. Saving one bee at a time.”
Then came the quiz:
Zena Gericke gave away four of her “Colours of an African Penguin” book as prizes. Lourens had two of their final bottles of CHB honey as prizes. I won one of the bottles and decided to put it up for auction to raise some funds for the Overstrand Palliative Care Ward. Pete Oxford accepted my call for a volunteer “Auctioneer” and helped to raise R260 rand for the bottle of honey.
And the tea …. It was lovely to see many people stay for tea, chatting to friends and visitors. Thanks to everyone who contributed towards the refreshments.
Carol Clark