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Become a Member, a Friend or Make a Donation

Why not join us and become a member of our association, become a friend of Newbattlebees or make a donation to support our work in delivering bee education and conservation.

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About Us

Newbattle Beekeepers Association (NBA) started in the grounds of Newbattle Abbey College (NBAC) in 2013 with 4 members of the Lamancha Beekeepers Association, established in 2010, and formerly based at Lamancha Organic Farm near West Linton. Through the dedication of its initial membership, the Newbattle Beekeepers' Association has grown to 80+ members and has become one of the foremost Scottish associations, trailblazing in the field of education for new and not so new beekeepers. 

As well as supporting the more experienced beekeeper, NBA operates with a strong emphasis on training new beekeepers to become certified Scottish Beekeeping Association (SBA) Basic Beekeepers following a full-year practical training programme involving caring for and maintaining a colony of bees in a dedicated hive. Find out more about the programme Here

The course participants join as members of the association through referral, or from having completed the Introduction to Beekeeping classes sponsored by and held at Newbattle Abbey College and delivered each year over a 6 weeks' period in late Spring and Autumn.

We also offer a programme of lectures, visits, demonstrations and other practical activities related to the craft of beekeeping. 

In May 2018, on World Bee Day we launched Newbattle Bee Academy to promote the art and craft of beekeeping and as a resource to be used by the community.

Why You'll Love Keeping Bees

Is Beekeeping For Me?                                           

If you like thriving gardens, biology, nature, and helping the community and environment, keeping bees can be a deeply satisfying hobby.

As you've no doubt heard and read, pollinators are experiencing unprecedented decline. The reasons are many, but interest in beekeeping is growing because of it. One way to provide garden and community pollination is by keeping honeybees. Hive by-products are a major bonus. Honey for eating and cooking and wax for candles, balms and other products.                

Learning the Craft

Successful beekeeping calls for an ability to handle bees with gentleness and firmness, and without fear. The good beekeeper will train to become keenly observant, capable of making quick and accurate diagnosis, and be alive to the needs of their bees. The intending beekeeper is advised not to acquire bees until they have had an initial period of preparation in the elements of the craft. this can be done by handling bees under supervision. Newbattle Beekeepers Association gives the aspiring beekeeper the opportunity of meeting experienced local beekeepers and the benefits offered by the association including hands on training delivered through  Newbattle Bee Academy 

About Honey Bees

• Of an estimated 25,000 known species of bee worldwide, only seven are honey bees.
• Honey bees have been on earth, making honey, for about 100 million years.
• All worker bees are female. Male bees, drones, do no work in the hive; their sole purpose in life is to fertilise a queen.
• The Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) is environmentally friendly and is vital as a pollinator
  
• A bee will visit 50 to a 100 flowers whilst collecting pollen or nectar. Unlike many other pollinators, honey bees will only forage on a single type of flower on any one trip.
• It is the only insect that produces food eaten by man
• A strong colony of bees can contain between 40,000 and 60,000 bees during the late spring and early summer. In winter, the colony will drop to around a quarter of its summer size.