Where to find us:
Derry & District Beekeepers' Association
Brooke Park Apiary
Derry
We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Our Apiary
Apiary Development – June 2025
Exciting progress at the apiary this month! 🛠🐝
We've been working hard on improvements to support our growing number of colonies, and we're pleased to share the installation of new permanent hive stands. These sturdy, level platforms will make inspections safer and more efficient — for both the beekeepers and the bees!
A big thank you to everyone who lent a hand in getting them in place. Another step forward in the continued development of our apiary.
More to come!
A Day in the Apiary – May 2025
A beautiful, sunny Saturday at the apiary with the Derry and District Beekeepers. ☀️🐝
It was a busy and rewarding day — a real glimpse into the daily rhythm of life in the apiary.
📸 We were delighted to welcome photographer Martin McKeown from NWRC, who captured 63 fantastic images throughout the day.
Highlights included:
Carefully smoking the hives before inspection to keep the bees calm and cooperative 🔥🐝
Beekeepers deep in hive inspections, checking colony health and progress
A lovely teaching moment with Barney guiding one of our new members on how to spot eggs and brood – vital signs of a healthy, growing colony
A striking image of our red-marked queen bee – a real beauty! ❤️
Frames full of worker bees and larger drone bees, busy as ever
Close-up shots of developing queen cells 👑
Thanks to everyone who came along and contributed to the day – and of course, to the bees for being such patient photo stars!
Apiary Spring Clean April 2025
After a stormy winter, we were treated to one of the sunniest springs in recent memory. Our members took full advantage of the good weather, rolling up their sleeves to give the apiary a spring clean in preparation for the busy beekeeping season ahead.
There was plenty to tackle:
- Tidying up areas needing some post winter TLC
- Deweeding and general maintenance
- Painting the sheds
- Taking inventory in the bee shed
- Checking and repairing our suits
It was a hive of activity, and the apiary is looking fantastic ready for the season to come. We're so grateful to everyone who pitched in. Special thanks to Leonie, Glenn and Mickey for capturing the clean up days in photos.
Apiary Refurbishment Spring 2024
The initial path design in the apiary proved to be too high maintenance. We decided to refurbish and concrete over the apiary paths - hoping to create a lower maintenance apiary and a fresh look.
Thanks to the help of our volunteer members we have worked throughout Spring 2024 to achieve this. We are now well on our way to achieving a low maintenance apiary. The next phase will be to sort the display area and landscaping.
Weekend apiary tasks involved changing out some of our aging equipment, hopefully the bees will appreciate it 😁
2022 season
Painting of new hives
Installation of new water storage and treament of drawn frames for the 2022 season ....
....and of course there is always a kettle on the boil 😉
New colourful life at the Apiary. Photos by Grainne.
Gary Gray, DDBKA chairman, said: “The official launch of the Brooke Park Civic Apiary is fantastic for beekeeping enthusiasts in and around the city.
A special tribute has been erected in memory of a stalwart of Derry's beekeeping community. Billy Chambers, who died last year, was a founding and long-time member of Derry & District Beekeepers’ Association (DDBKA).
In Billy's honour, members of the club have erected a plaque in the newly-opened civic apiary at Brooke Park.
The impressive green space in the Rosemount area of the city is now ‘home’ of the local beekeeping enthusiasts’ group.
Located at the lower end of Brooke Park with access from the top of Great James Street, the refurbished area has fully accessible pathways, a covered bee inspection area, and facilities for changing and equipment storage.
“The first phase is only the beginning, and we are looking forward to building on the foundations laid by our late colleague Billy in welcoming a new generation of beekeepers to the apiary.”
For more information on the project, or if you would like to get involved in beekeeping, please email Derry & District Beekeepers’ Association at info@derryanddistrictbeekeepers.com
See below apiary refurbishment.
Work has begun........
............ progressing well and looking good.
Work being scheduled and co-ordinated by Mickie Harkin, Funding Development Officer for the association.
The scheme consists of putting in wheelchair friendly paths and a new storage unit.
Paths almost finished, base for shed completed.
Paths finished, bark laid, some plants planted and hive positions marked.
And a new shed!
AND !!!! we are done, we've just put the finishing touches to the first phase of development at our Brooke Park apiary, we aptly titled it the Bees Knees, and we think that when you see it, you will heartily agree it certainly is just that . We would like to take the opportunity to thank Awards For All for their generous funding and also acknowledge the many individual association members who by working in safe shift patterns managed to get the finishing touches completed. We take our caps off to Rory and his team from Romac Landscapes, who worked tirelessly to ensure that they completed the contract in a safe and compliant manner, their attention to detail made the process very easy.
This is the first of several development phases that we have planned for the association, more of which we will share at a later date,
however it's safe to say that all of this would be a lot more difficult but for the ongoing support of Derry City and Strabane District Council and in particular Cllr Sandra Duffy who has championed and led on several key environmental issues .
Daffodils in bloom and so much more to come for pollinators throughout the year.
Beekeeping under lockdown at the Apiary
Even during lockdown, the bees didn't get the memo - they still needed their caretakers.
Social distancing? No problem! We've been rocking full-body suits, gloves, and face coverings long before it was trendy.
Hand hygiene? lets just sat sticky fingers and bees don't mix. Covid may have brought new rules for many, but for beekeepers, it was business as unusual ... just a little more space between us.