You suggest that a mentor should be selected based solely on the number of inspections they perform (a function of the number of colonies they manage) but it is also (or perhaps should be) someone who has a great deal of theoretical knowledge as well as practical experience. Otherwise, they may have very little to teach beyond how to do basic inspections quickly. There is also a lot of nonsense/BS spouted so a person seeking a mentor should have a questioning approach - not deliberately obstructive but always asking why, or what is the advantage/disadvantage (not only cost/benefit to the beekeeper) of selecting one method over another. I've kept bees for over 30 years and focus on proper breeding, rather than straight-forward queen-rearing (there is a difference - check out my TH-cam/Twitter to see what I mean). I have mentored people and given presentations at local associations. The thing I look for most is not just an extra pair of hands. It's someone who actively participates in their own learning. I don't have time to replace basic queen-rearing books so I expect people to be prepared to go away and do that basic learning themselves during the winter months. By all means, discuss the advantages/disadvantages but don't expect me to do all the running. You have to do some ground-work yourself. None of us is getting any younger though so I expect people to adopt and practice what I teach. Otherwise, we're wasting each others time. I think what I'm really trying to say is that being mentored isn't a passive thing. You have to be prepared to do some learning yourself - discuss and question your mentor, but not in an aggressive way. Remember, the mentor owes you nothing. You owe him/her everything. That is why I expect people I mentor not only to learn, but to adopt what I teach, implement and practice it, discuss their findings and suggest improvements. It isn't about blindly accepting what the mentor says but gaining from their knowledge and experience. I have learned far more about breeding from breeders in other countries than I ever did here in the UK. I often think a fault we have is that something isn't worth learning if it wasn't developed here, or written in English. That is a big mistake in my opinion. Many of the things we take for granted were not invented here - so don't think passing a BBKA module equips you as a breeder. It doesn't.
@@gwenyngruffydd Thanks. 20 years ago I was a beekeeper as you described. I took it up, joined the local bbka, kept going for a couple of years with 2 hives but was not very successful and didn't have a mentor. I was working at the time and finding it very difficult as I had too little experience. I gave up. Now 20 years later I have bought a small cider orchard and the pollination was poor last year and the crop was very small. I am now taking it up again now. What a difference! your youtube videos have been invaluable. Also I have again joined the loca bbka which is unrecognisable. Thank you. You are very generous. I will certainly be signing up for a course with you as soon as it is safe to do so.
Thank you so much for sharing that. Im so glad you found this channel useful! 😊 Thats exactly the reason I started doing the videos in the first place.
![The Wall Song ร้องข้ามกำแพง | EP.215 | พาเวล นเรศ - พูห์ กฤติน | 17 ต.ค. 67 [1/5]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IUzrjuf60P4/mqdefault.jpg)
You suggest that a mentor should be selected based solely on the number of inspections they perform (a function of the number of colonies they manage) but it is also (or perhaps should be) someone who has a great deal of theoretical knowledge as well as practical experience. Otherwise, they may have very little to teach beyond how to do basic inspections quickly. There is also a lot of nonsense/BS spouted so a person seeking a mentor should have a questioning approach - not deliberately obstructive but always asking why, or what is the advantage/disadvantage (not only cost/benefit to the beekeeper) of selecting one method over another.
I've kept bees for over 30 years and focus on proper breeding, rather than straight-forward queen-rearing (there is a difference - check out my TH-cam/Twitter to see what I mean). I have mentored people and given presentations at local associations. The thing I look for most is not just an extra pair of hands. It's someone who actively participates in their own learning. I don't have time to replace basic queen-rearing books so I expect people to be prepared to go away and do that basic learning themselves during the winter months. By all means, discuss the advantages/disadvantages but don't expect me to do all the running. You have to do some ground-work yourself.
None of us is getting any younger though so I expect people to adopt and practice what I teach. Otherwise, we're wasting each others time. I think what I'm really trying to say is that being mentored isn't a passive thing. You have to be prepared to do some learning yourself - discuss and question your mentor, but not in an aggressive way. Remember, the mentor owes you nothing. You owe him/her everything. That is why I expect people I mentor not only to learn, but to adopt what I teach, implement and practice it, discuss their findings and suggest improvements. It isn't about blindly accepting what the mentor says but gaining from their knowledge and experience.
I have learned far more about breeding from breeders in other countries than I ever did here in the UK. I often think a fault we have is that something isn't worth learning if it wasn't developed here, or written in English. That is a big mistake in my opinion. Many of the things we take for granted were not invented here - so don't think passing a BBKA module equips you as a breeder. It doesn't.
Some good points there. I think we are saying the same thing but in a different way. 😊
@@gwenyngruffydd No doubt ;-)
😊
Do you offer beekeeping courses?
Yes we do 😊
If you would like to find out more all the information is on the website www.gwenyngruffydd.co.uk
@@gwenyngruffydd Thanks. 20 years ago I was a beekeeper as you described. I took it up, joined the local bbka, kept going for a couple of years with 2 hives but was not very successful and didn't have a mentor. I was working at the time and finding it very difficult as I had too little experience. I gave up. Now 20 years later I have bought a small cider orchard and the pollination was poor last year and the crop was very small. I am now taking it up again now. What a difference! your youtube videos have been invaluable. Also I have again joined the loca bbka which is unrecognisable. Thank you. You are very generous. I will certainly be signing up for a course with you as soon as it is safe to do so.
Thank you so much for sharing that. Im so glad you found this channel useful! 😊 Thats exactly the reason I started doing the videos in the first place.