The Jersey Beekeepers’ Association is to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2017 and will start its year of special events as a member of Genuine Jersey.
Founded in 1917, the Jersey Beekeepers’ Association was set up to promote the craft of bee keeping in Jersey. With over 100 members, the association is now focused on educating bee keepers, and the public, and has also recently become a charity.
Michael du Feu, Committee Member, Jersey Beekeepers’ Association, said: “Bees have had a tough time in Jersey, like in many parts of Western Europe, over the past few years. The recent sightings of Asian Hornets in the island being the latest. One of our main roles now as a charity, is to raise awareness of how perilous the situation is, and what people can do to help the island’s bee population.
“Joining Genuine Jersey is something we are doing for our members. We’ve lost a number of bee colonies over the last few years so there is a shortage of bees, and a very limited supply of local honey. Members therefore have no problem selling the honey they have, but being able to certify it as Genuine Jersey is a good way of reminding people they are eating a local product that is becoming increasingly difficult to produce.”
The Association plans a range of activities during 2017 to celebrate the centenary. These include developing an Association Apiary, to provide a training centre for bee keepers in Jersey; creating a special release of stamps with Jersey Post; a Honey Show at Hamptonne; a pollination project in St Helier to raise awareness about bees; and, a series of talks with UK expert speakers.
John Garton, Chief Executive, Genuine Jersey Product Association, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Jersey Beekeepers’ Association as new members. Genuine Jersey is all about supporting local producers and raising awareness about local produce, and we hope this will be a very productive centenary for Jersey’s beekeepers.”
The Jersey Beekeeper’s Association will be posting updates about centenary events on their new Facebook page. Search here for more information.
