Animal husbandry and small holding skills courses, craft kits and handcrafted gifts

An intensive course to get you started, explaining all about the honey bee, helping you choose your hive and equipment, how and where to set up your apiary, the bees management and pests and diseases. Not forgetting when and how to extract that lovely honey. An informal couple of days spent with others looking to keep bees. A wealth of information from a highly experienced beekeeper and a chance to see the different equipment available, along with a useful pack of course notes to take away. Where the bees and...

The first year of beekeeping course is an online program that gives you all the basic knowledge to quickly and confidently start your first beehive. We designed this program to be the perfect introduction to beekeeping, for both beginners and anyone wanting to refresh their skills. Our course was designed to carefully balance theory and practice. The first few lessons will give you an understanding of the honey bee colony. You will then learn about the equipment that you will need, the type of beehive and bees that you can...

Have you ever wondered what goes on inside a beehive? This is the opportunity you have been waiting for! This action-packed half-day taster event is suitable for adults and for families with children of all ages and is ideal as a gift experience for a birthday, Christmas or Mothers' and Fathers' Day (gift vouchers are available.) It is suitable as the first step for wanna-bee beekeepers or for anyone inspired by recent tv programmes and would like to learn more about beekeeping and honey. You will discover why we keep...

Introduction There are many reasons why people want to start keeping bees. It may be an ambition that you have had for a long time and now you have the time and space to do something about it. Others want to do something positive about the decline in pollinators or they fancy the idea of producing honey and other hive products. However, beekeeping is an activity that is not successfully learnt from books and the internet alone. A successful start to what may become a fulfilling, lifelong interest depends on...

Are you and your family considering a new way of life? Thinking 'The Good Life'? Struggling to find somewhere for all the family to experience smallholding life? Well, look no further. We offer an introduction to smallholding for all the family. We will run through the things you need to consider when buying a property and choosing livestock. You will have the chance to get hands on with the animals too. Learn how to trim the hooves of goats or sheep, check the teats of a sow by making her...

During this hands-on introductory workshop, you will explore the traditional orchards of the Wyre Forest, and learn how to look after hard and soft fruits through the seasons for the benefit of good tree health and wildlife. This workshop is part of the Wyre Community Land Trust's Ruskin Club. The Ruskin Club is inspired by John Ruskin (1819-1900), the Victorian artist and social critic, whose vision for Ruskin Land was for it to be ‘beautiful, peaceful and fruitful’. Ruskin wanted everyone to see and enjoy the unspoiled, inspirational beautify of...

A One Day Beekeeping Taster Day A great day if you are thinking about keeping bees, we will discuss beekeeping today, the apiary set up, why bees and other pollinators are so important, look at different types of hives and take a look inside a working beehive. You will take home a bee-related gift, and notes about keeping bees. Course Tutor: Jill Sales and Josh Dean: Jill has been teaching professionally for many years and helping new beekeepers enjoy this skill. She keeps several colonies of bees and is the...

A 3 hour morning course discussing chicken keeping. Learn about the pleasures and perils of keeping hens in your garden, their suitability as pets and the joys of having your own fresh free-range eggs. What you need to know if you are just setting up. A follow-on course is held in the afternoon, covering caring for and handling your chickens. Course Programme: 3 hours, 9.30am - 12.30pm Course Tutor: Jason Weller Jason is the co-owner of Mantel Farm and our expert in chicken care, he has written many articles for...

A 3 hour afternoon course - both a practical and theory session. The more you handle your chickens the more friendly they become. Some people plan to spend a lot of time with their hens and others simply like to know how to handle them should it become necessary. This course is aimed at all chicken keepers wishing to feel confident that they can carry out a basic health check, caring for and handling their hens in the correct way. A beginners course is also held in the morning, "beginning...