Membership Guide

MEMBERSHIP GUIDE – High Weald Beekeepers Association

  1. The membership year runs from the 1st October to 30th September.
  2. Membership fees will be shown on the current Membership Application.
  3. Membership fees are due on the 1st of October each year. After 6 weeks
    from this date membership with both the High Weald Beekeepers’
    Association (HWBKA) and the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) will be
    cancelled.
  4. Reminders for renewal will be sent out during September each year. New
    members should be aware that this applies to them too regardless of when in
    the year they joined the Association.
  5. All Bee Disease Insurance (BDI) will expire on the 31st of December in
    that membership year. If members have not renewed by that date they will
    not be covered for disease risks after the 31st December. Any membership
    renewed after the 31st of December will have a lapse of 40 days before the
    BDI becomes active.
  6. Late payment of membership fees will be subject to a £5 re-joining fee,
    which will be payable at the time of renewal.
  7. Payment may be made by cheque or direct bank transfer.
  8. FULL MEMBERSHIP:
    Full Membership entitles the member to attend and take part in all HWBKA
    activities, AGM/EGMs, educational and social events. Each Full Member will
    also be registered with the BBKA and be entitled to attend and vote at the
    annual BBKA AGM and any other event organised by them. They will also
    receive the magazine, BBKA News, and BDI for up to 3 colonies (N.B. further
    colonies may be insured at extra cost). Full Membership also includes the
    main member’s partner and up to two children under the age of 16 FOR
    SOCIAL EVENTS ONLY (such as Bee Banter, the Christmas Social etc. - please
    check if you are unsure). Only the Full Member has membership of the BBKA.
    The Full Member will also receive an electronic copy of the Wealden
    Apiarist. Voting rights during HWBKA AGM/EGMs are for the Full Member
    only.
  9. PARTNER MEMBERSHIP:
    Partner Membership entitles a Full Member’s partner or relative,
    living at the same address, to full membership of HWBKA and the BBKA
    together with all BBKA voting rights. Please note that the Partner Member
    will not receive a copy of the BBKA magazine (there is one copy per
    household) and there is no BDI cover with this membership. If the Partner
    Member has colonies attributed to their membership, then they will need to
    be covered by additional BDI if both the Full Member and Partner Member
    have more than a total of 3 colonies. An electronic copy of the Wealden
    Apiarist is included. Partner Membership includes full voting rights at the
    HWBKA AGM/EGMs. There can only be one Partner Member per household.
  10. JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP:
    Junior Membership entitles a young person under the age of 18 to
    membership of the HWBKA and the BBKA (but not voting rights of the BBKA),
    BDI is not normally included but can be arranged (at extra cost).
    and the BBKA magazine and Wealden Apiarist. Junior Membership includes the
    right to vote at HWBKA AGM/EGMs.
  11. ASSOCIATE/SOCIAL MEMBER:
    Associate / Social Members are entitled to attend all HWBKA events and
    will receive a copy of the Wealden Apiarist only. This is for people who
    are either already a member of the BBKA through another County Association,
    or those without bees who wish to join us and learn more. There are no
    HWBKA AGM/EGM voting rights with this membership.
  12. BEE DISEASE INSURANCE
    BDI runs from 1st January to 31st December. Full Membership
    includes BDI for up to 3 hives. Should a member have more than 3 colonies
    (or hives) then an additional premium will need to be paid. Members should
    have insurance to cover ALL hives/colonies, including nuclei. Failure to
    insure the full number of hives/colonies will render any claim invalid.
    Additional insurance can be purchased at any time by contacting the
    Treasurer. Partner Membership does not include any BDI. Full details of BDI
    cover can be found on the BBKA Website. A summary of cover is printed on
    members BDI certificates. All BDI certificates are sent electronically and
    should be kept safely/printed out and produced in the event of a claim.
  13. EVENTS and MEETINGS
    As a group the HWBKA holds regular meetings and events around the
    subject of beekeeping. Regular talks, apiary visits, social meetings and
    practical demonstrations are held throughout the year. Most of these are
    free, but some may carry a small fee to cover materials or speakers.
  14. HIRE of EQUIPMENT and LIBRARY
    Membership allows the hire of certain items of equipment from the
    association for a small fee and refundable deposit (e.g. honey extractor),
    and also to borrow books from the HWBKA library for a deposit.
  15. APIARY and TRAINING
    The HWBKA has an apiary site which is available for members to use, by
    prior arrangement with the apiary Manager, as a temporary ‘out
    apiary’ to facilitate moving bees in the active season. The
    Association runs a course for beginners each year as well as sessions for
    more experienced members. A 'Topical Tips' email is sent to all members at
    various times during the active season to remind members of important
    activities that should be done.
  16. WEALDEN APIARIST
    The HWBKA produces a magazine entitled the Wealden Apiarist. This will
    generally contain details of future events, reports on previous events, and
    any notices or articles that are of interest. Articles are always welcomed
    by the editor. The magazine is emailed to all members. It is also available
    to download from the HWBKA website.
  17. SWARM LIST
    The HWBKA maintains a list of members who would like to collect swarms
    of bees that are reported to our Swarm Coordinators.
  18. COMMUNICATIONS
    In order to keep costs and time to a minimum all communications are done
    by email. Please ensure that the Membership Secretary is informed of any
    change of email address.
  19. DATA PROTECTION
    Members details will be held on computer and may be distributed to
    committee members of the HWBKA for communication between members. Details
    will also be passed to the BBKA and also the Animal and Plant Health
    Agency's (APHA) National Bee Unit (BeeBase) to validate BDI and public
    liability insurance and also so that members can receive the BBKA magazine.
    This will also enable the Seasonal Bee Inspector to contact members with
    information regarding potential outbreaks or bee related issues. Please
    note that members details will not be sold on or used for any other
    purpose. Should a member wish to opt out of their details being passed to
    BeeBase then they should ensure that their wishes are communicated to the
    Membership Secretary. Please note that in the event of a major disease
    outbreak (or Hive Beetle etc.) any members who have opted out of BeeBase
    are required to give their details by law and we will have to pass them
    onto the Bee Inspector.Full details of the association’s General Data Protection
    Regulation privacy policy are available on request or can be read or
    downloaded from the website.
  20. MEMBERSHIP FEE INCREASES
    The Committee of the HWBKA reserve the right to increase the membership
    fee for new members or at renewal for existing members, should at any time
    the BBKA or the BDI raise their fees. Only proposed increases in the
    portion of the membership fee due to the HWBKA will be put to the AGM for
    voting.

Updated: November 2018

This document is also downloadable as a printable pdf from here: Membership Guide-2018-2019

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