Hi Matt,

As you'll know, bee keeping is a fascinating, challenging and rewarding activity but if I've learned one thing by embarking on this process it's that it is not a natural fit as a group activity. The relationship between the keeper and the bees is quite personal. When we set this up we thought of it as a community activity. However, the experience is teaching us that a core group of four to six works well, but one or two of those people have to be involved all the time (because of the need to know week to week what's going on in the colony). The challenge is then how to include more people who aren't going to be there every visit. There's only so much space around a hive and only a couple of pairs of hands that can go in it. That's not to say it isn't possible, but the successful versions I have seen - tried and tested - are when when a bee keeping association has a lot of hives in one apiary. It's members either keep their own hive at the communal apiary - so they come together every Sunday to tend their own hive and socialise - or they keep their own hive else where and visit on Sunday's to help others. My advice would be to join an association (we're members of Harrow) and go and see what I mean... although you may know all this already. Good luck. David