Pohara Bee Strategy
Master Plan
The bees’ natural habitat is within a 5km radius of the hives. There needs to be a substantial food source and supply of fresh water at the site of the hives that the bees have ready access to. The bees need to be protected from strong winds, so the planting also needs to act as a wind barrier that protects the hives. For this reason, there is a buffer of native trees surrounding the hives that is roughly 10 meters in width. The hives are open to the pasture from the station, meaning that the bees are able to create a flight path that includes pollenating the pasture for the station along with the native trees surrounding the hives.
This area of land will be filled with plants that benefit the bees, help with improvement of the soil and also help with erosion. The roots from the rosemary climber will help with erosion as their root systems are very strong and large which will help with the erosion on the cliffs. Because the Rosemary is a climber it will over time begin to run down the cliff space as it will take over the grass that runs on the tops of the cliff in mix with the existing planting. Rosemary is also very popular with the bees as they are very attracted to the blue flowers. Cabbage trees will be planted also as they need to be pollenated by the bees which will increase growth. Because of their seeds the birds will also benefit from the planting of cabbage trees and they are self-seeding plants so once they are in they don’t need much attention. Manuka is planting purely for the bees this plant has huge nutritious value for the bees they also grow happily in wet and dry land which is an issue in the Waikato.
Ventilator roof. Crown Board
Super with frames Queen excluder Brood Chamber Floor Entrance
Stone footpath to keep up with the natural looks of the area. The path doesn’t lead directly into and underneath the beehives. This allows for the requirement that the beehives are moved to different locations of the site from time to time. The path is sloped slightly and the runoff will flow into the grass. Each section that has a hive will have a gutter system to retain water when there is a large rainfall. The hives themselves need to be kept as dry as possible during the wet season. Georgina Dean BLA 1442315