The Apiary that we didn’t have to build
By Brother Loarne Ferguson, June 2022
[Editor: Last year we had Brother Loarne living with us at HOD for several months, and during this time he was working on an apiary for us (or “Bee palace” as he says sometimes). In this article he shares the vision behind the build as an eco-project which he led during his time with us.]
“I hope the bees appreciate it!” said Kev, as we put the tools away. Andy transferred the active hives into place a few days after we had taken the main photo. Jo and June are planting climbing jasmine at the base of the lattice to form a ‘green wall’ which will break the force of the strong, north wind and give the bees a nearby source of food. The hives have plenty of space for ‘supers’ to go on top of them as the bee colonies grow… “So what,” you may ask, “is the point of all that?”
It’s a fair question. We could have bought timber down at B&Q, poured a bit of concrete into the ground and banged a similar structure together in four weeks. Why spend four months on something we could have done more quickly and easily? The answer is simple: because we didn’t have to. There are some things in life you have to start before you fully understand why you are doing them. I am told that marriage is like that and I know it holds true for the consecrated life too. It also applies to the way we built the apiary.
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