St Petrocs Volunteer Beekeeper

As the Volunteer Beekeeper, you will play an important role of being responsible for the safe management of the Barncroft beehives situated in Mount Hawke.

St Petrocs has been managing bees at the premises for several years and under the supervision of the Associate Director of Residential Services you will be responsible for the continued management of the beehives, honey extraction and support of clients wishing to assist with managing the beehives on a one-to-one basis.

Hours to be agreed between successful volunteer and manager.

Key Responsibilities

You will work closely with the Associate Director for Residential Services to provide comprehensive beehive management support.  This may include:

1.  Ensuring the safety of people visiting and inspecting the hives and the health and wellbeing of the bees.
2.  Being aware of the personal equipment needed when opening a hive and the importance of its cleanliness.
3.  According to the seasonal requirements, regular inspection of colonies to check on stores, space, presence of the queen and all stages of brood, that the colony is building as expected, and for signs of pests and diseases.
4.  Checking and treating for varroa when necessary.
5.  Checking stores and feeding when appropriate, e.g. spring to build up, during prolonged bad weather in summer, autumn and winter.
6.  Swarm control and management. 
7.  Building hive parts and frames.
8.  Extracting and jarring honey.

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

You’ll share our core values: Honesty, Integrity, Equality, and Dignity.

Essential

• Commitment to our service and client group.
• Reliability and agreement on how much time you can commit to the role.
• Responsibility for own and others health and safety whilst undertaking the tasks.
• Can maintain confidentiality as required.
• Provide a friendly welcome to any donators and visitors to Barncroft.        
• Have a passion for and have independent bee keeping experience. 
• Can stay calm under pressure and possess a desire to work outdoors.       
• Ability to work unsupervised. 
• Able to work well with clients supervising them should they wish to assist with bee keeping activities.        
• Able to make own arrangements for travel to Barncroft, Mount Hawke.  

Desirable

• Have basic IT knowledge including Microsoft Office. 

Benefits

St Petrocs is pleased to offer the following support:

• Comprehensive induction training.
• Clear instructions and guidance on your role.
• Ongoing training related to your volunteering role.
• Supervision and support throughout volunteering duties.
• Tempo Credit Rewards for volunteering time given.
• Regular newsletter providing the latest updates.
• Volunteer Forum quarterly meetings, to meet other volunteers and contribute to the success of the volunteering programme.
• Annual ‘thank you’ event for volunteers.
• Reimbursement of travel costs subject to approval by supervising manager and prior to any travel arrangements being made. 

About St Petrocs

We're working to end homelessness in Cornwall, because every person has a right to a safe and secure home.

St Petrocs was established in 1986 as a direct response to people experiencing homelessness in Truro. Over the years, our services have grown - shaped by the needs of the people we support. 

Today, over 60 staff work together tirelessly to ensure we can provide the best quality of service possible to those people who find themselves vulnerably housed or pushed into homelessness. 

We are an independent, charitable organisation that provides people in need with somewhere and someone to turn to.

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