« I remember a dead chestnut tree in the middle of a field, I was 7 or 8 years old. Bees were coming in through a hole, my father said there was plenty of honey in the tree. My brother and I got closer, we found it magical. It was like a treasure, but impossible to look inside. » The fascination with foragers has never left Jacky Moreau. This retiree from Boismé has around fifty hives today, with which he produces Bressuirais bocage honey as an enlightened amateur, “ no question of taking the place of professionals ».
Train via apiary schools
Keen to pass on and share, Jacky got involved in the Abeille des Deux-Sèvres union, the largest beekeeping association in the department which has 650 members. It pursues various objectives: promoting the practice through conferences, helping members acquire equipment at a lower cost and training them through apiary school courses. Marie-Bernadette Rotureau, Yves Bétard and Jean-Marie Giret accompany Jacky in his animation missions.
The sessions are organized from March to June, for groups of fifteen to twenty members. A dozen afternoons, every other Saturday, are not too long to reveal part of the secret of the life of hives and learn how to take care of them. “ This is basic training to become independent and intervene if necessary. », Indicates Jean-Marie. “ The practical dimension really adds. We open the hives to members », adds Yves Bétard.
Preserve heritage
Because it is also about allaying apprehensions and observing these hard workers who carry out seven different jobs in the service of a queen. “ Every time I open a hive it gives me an emotion, it's exciting », Testifies Marie-Bernadette, who discovered beekeeping late in life and attests that the practice is not gendered. “ We form a small group that gets along wellassure Jacky. The aim of the association is also to bring people together. This often happens at the store . We help each other if hives need to be moved, we get updates on the health of the swarms.
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Because beekeepers are at the forefront of taking a keen look at the cycles of nature. They are aware of helping to preserve a heritage endangered by varroa mites (parasitic mites), of course, but above all by climate change and treatments in the fields.
Contact: https//syndicat.beedesdeux-sevres.fr
Warehouse located ZA des Herses in Aiffres.
France
