BRON WOODS
PERMACULTURE AND BEES
By Anthony Kilner There are 12 design principles around permaculture that essentially cover three key aspects of life: Earth Care, Fair Share and People Care. These principles are, from 1 to 12: Observe and interact, Catch and store energy, Obtain a yield, Apply self-regulation and accept feedback, Use and value renewable resources and services, Produce no waste, Design from pattern to details, Integrate rather than separate, Use small and slow solutions, Use and value diversity, Use edges and value the marginal and creativity use, and Respond to change. Bron Woods applies these principles to her life. Mother of two Bron, has a Masters in Sustainability, is an educator and has a huge passion for bee keeping. In fact, she took over Bob’s Beekeeping in Watson’s Creek on the edge of the Yarra Valley in 2018. Permaculture is a very real thing in Bron’s life and she is working to set up her 25 acre farm adhering to its principles. This interview really captures Bron’s way of life and how permaculture and bees go hand in hand.
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Supernal Magazine
There are 12 design principles in permaculture, and you have highlighted four of them to discuss. Can you explain the first principle of ‘Observe and Interact’? “As bee keepers, if we don’t observe, we can’t expect to manage our bees successfully either for ourselves or for the bees. Observation is paramount. We need to observe what’s going on in the environment, and what’s going on inside and outside the hive, just as beekeepers have always done.
“We are looking at the resources the bees are bringing in and what they are lacking; have they got nectar, have they got pollen, what the queen is doing, has she laid well since we had our last look inside, is she laying at all, what is she laying, is she laying healthy larvae or laying drone cells? Incidentally, drones aren’t a bad thing, it’s just another observation. By observing we are able to manage hive space and manage the hive structure we have decided on successfully. Always working respectfully toward the bees.”
