Gardening for bees and wildlife

I am a complete novice to beekeeping but wanted to take it up as a hobby. This course was fantastic in simplifying beekeeping to a natural science and Jennifer is an excellent teacher. It was unfortunate that we couldn't meet in person but Jennifer really made it work on Zoom. It's just a shame you can't Zoom cake! If you are interested in taking up beekeeping then I would whole heartedly recommend this course to explain all the fundamentals and give you the confidence to go for it.

This Zoom course was beyond my expectations! Jennifer had all of our attention with clear and interesting explanations of hive structure and bees. I loved how it felt as if I was in a real class, so very grateful.

I’ve attended both face to face and zoom courses with Jen. Her knowledge is incredible, she has a scientific and experiential understanding of honeybees. Her teaching is relaxed and conversational which makes the experience perfect for everyone. Her courses are great for people who just want to know more about honeybees and also so informative for those wanting to start or maintain a hive. More so her approach is so in tune with nature and supportive of the bees natural world. I left my first 2hr course with Jen knowing that I had contacts and mentors to talk to. I’ve since collected my own swarm and supported a hive, on my 2nd in my second year now and so chuffed. Enormous thanks Jen

A wonderful way to spend two hours - fascinating informative and really enjoyable. Jenny was both knowledgeable and accessible - making the prospect of beekeeping in a natural way both appealing and approachable. Great cookies too

An inspiring afternoon - Jen is a natural and knowledgeable teacher who encourages her students to observe and think. I’d recommend this course to anyone who keeps bees and has an interest in understanding them and reimagining the role of the beekeeper.

Loved the course. Very practical and helpful.

Inspiring. Got home, bought a hive.

Really enjoyable, well presented - I like Jennifer’s approach to bee-keeping. Left me motivated and keen to start. I really should mention the excellent cake too!!

Very informative, I left having made a number of new decisions about the garden. From the importance of where you buy seeds, to encouraging lizards!

Brilliant course! Jennifer was very knowledgeable and passionate about protecting wildlife.

I learned a lot and I’m looking forward to transforming my garden into a bee and wildlife friendly space.

Highly recommended

Very thorough

A wonderful and informative afternoon. Jennifer's passion shines through. If I wasn't already sold on the idea of getting a hive, I certainly am now.

A fabulous afternoon. Jennifer is incredibly knowledgable and engaging. We loved her way of teaching and her beliefs. I would highly recommend Jennifer and thank her so much for a really lovely afternoon including a lovely piece of homemade cake and great coffee ☕️

I would definitely recommend this course. It is relaxed and informal; Jennifer explains everything you need to know with the emphasis on what is good for the bees rather than the beekeeper. Jennifer has a lot of experience and a wealth of knowledge - and makes a lovely cake!

Jennifer is so knowledgeable, and conveys that knowledge in an engaging way. Would thoroughly recommend. Great cake too!

My husband and myself came on this course with no knowledge at all about bees & beekeeping, but thought the beginners course would be a great start- we both thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon & learnt so much from Jennifer. The time just flew, but we gained so much from the course. Jennifer is passionate about beekeeping & that came across in her knowledge, enthusiasm and the course notes. We are definitely looking into starting up beekeeping in the future! I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who is interested in beekeeping. We will definitely be interested in coming on the intermediate course!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this course - it was so interesting and informative. I love Jennifer’s approach to keeping bees, with the care and wellbeing of the bees being paramount. I cannot believe how much I learnt in two hours, which flew by! Jennifer is clearly passionate about bees, and this comes across when she’s teaching. The accompanying course notes (with lots of useful links to a wealth of resources) are really helpful, so I can follow up on more reading etc. I can highly recommend this course, and am looking forward to progressing to Intermediate level very soon. Thank you Jennifer!

Excellent course! My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Jennifer has a wealth of knowledge and her passion shines through when she is teaching. She gave us invaluable information to get us started on our bee keeping journey! Would recommend this course to anyone interested in keeping bees! She also makes a delicious cake too!

Jennifer is a “hive” of information about all aspects of beekeeping. Her more natural and sensitive approach to caring for your bees are a breath of fresh air and a delight to listen to and discuss. I came away from her course feeling like I could begin a new chapter in my beekeeping and with the confidence to follow my instinct when making decisions about how to care for my bees. Thankyou for a very informative and enjoyable afternoon.

An excellent course! Jennifer's approach to beekeeping has made me feel much more comfortable about looking after my own hive and the care of my bees. She answered our questions and concerns, and whilst I appreciate every colony is different, Jennifer has left me feeling more confident in my abilities. I could have listened, and talked to Jennifer all afternoon. Thank you.

I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon, very informative and really nice to meet like minded people in a homely environment.

A very informative day - I learnt more about bee keeping in 2 hours with Jennifer than from all the literature that I had been reading. Jennifer is very knowledgeable and explains the subject in a clear and understandable manner at a pace that everyone could keep up with. Well worth doing if you are thinking of keeping bees in a sustainable way.

Relaxed and very enjoyable course. Very informative talking you through understanding the bee and introducing you to the equipment
Delicious tea and cake icing on the top of an excellent afternoon!

Jennifer is a natural teacher with great communication skills. There is plenty of detail in this course so that you can actually go an "do" things to start your colony afterwards, but Jennifer also explains sustainable beekeeping holistically, so it also becomes a way of thinking rather than a tick box exercise. It means that if you do decide to read books on the subject afterwards, you have a really solid framework in which to put all your newly acquired knowledge. It's a great course which I'd recommend without hesitation to anyone starting out with beekeeping. (The cake is also amazing.)

Wonderful course and a fascinating introduction to the extraordinary life of bees as well as the keeping of them. I'd highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in sustainability and discovering ways to nurture and grow their local bee population as well as make honey.

Jennifer's course was great. I learned a lot and was interested in everything she had to say. I would recommend her course to anyone thinking about keeping bees.

This course was perfect. Jennifer has an art to imparting her passionate knowledge of bee keeping in such a way that beginners feel inspired and equppped to start immediately. Jennifer is clearly incredibly knowledgeable about the subject and her sustainable approach should be admired. She teaches in such a way that you leave the course with confidence. The added extra is that you get to taste the product of her incredible baking skills. A wonderfully relaxed but truly informative course. I will certainly be attending an intermediate course in the near future 🐝

I have wanted to find out about bees for ages, but was a bit anxious about what it involved. This course however was just the thing needed to fill me with confidence and to propel me into action: a few days after attending, I have already ordered my hives and am looking forward to the whole beekeeping experience. I am so glad that Jennifer was the one to introduce me to the subject - her knowledge and sound good sense was inspirational and I have complete confidence that her methods, traditional ones that look to the welfare of the hive rather than mere honey production, will be rewarding and successful. She is a very good teacher and I'm sure will be a fantastic mentor, should I need further advise. I can thoroughly recommend this course.

I attended as a follow-up to Jennifer's Beginner's Course. This time was just as great as last year when I was just starting out, with the added bonus that I had experienced some of what we discussed with our own hives. Really helpful to be thinking about the next stages in our beekeeping adventure and to be able to share knowledge with others. Highly recommended.

Friendly and highly informative, just right for beginner covering everything I had hoped.

I would thoughly recommended this course . If like me you have been thinking of having a hive in your garden but just don't know how it will happen due to lack of knowledge. This course is for you . Jenny has a lovely way of sharing her knowledge. I now have a colony of bees in my garden which is just a dream come true and there is nothing better than tasting warm raw honey from your own bees