South of Scotlènd BeÈkeepersA$5QGiation Scottish Charity Number SC048334 Recelpts and Payrnent5 Accountfor year ended 31. January 2025 Re¢elpts Payments RE5trfrted UnTe5tNcred Yearto 3L.1.25 31.1.25 31.1.24 5.199 956 9,041 1,214 215 360 250 820 128 70 303 92 31.1.25 31.1.25 31.1.24 NormalAciivlty Honey 5ale5 BoefpÈd. Jèr¥ Extiartor Hir4. Fr4mq5 oember5hipSub5criptiW5 BeeSale5 DoThation5 Egulprnent 124 20 Trainln8 Expen5e5 9,128 8,492 beefeed, lars, Medication 2.211 1.685 Electricitv & Water Rates 2,064 1,207 IT Expenses li 20 Audll & Accwntary Fees 1,775 1,800 ¥teDt 15.313 13,225 Premises Ewnses 742 7.964 2.113 430 384 250 449 166 70 Subscr1ptions Fuel Paypal Expenses ndry Total Received 15 313 13 225 34 1,2N 13.823 18,647 Totsi plyment 13 823 18 647 efi¢iilSutp￿S foryeir L 489 .5 4ZI Approved 8yTrustee5 Signed ODth2ir behal -xill.mber 2C25 South of Scotland Beekeeper5A5scciation Scottish Charity Number SC048334 Statementof ealartce as at 31 January2025 Year to Year to 31.1.25 31,1.24 B•nkJnd C4sh In Hand Doening &alance5 IUnre5trictedl DpeDifig Balances IRe5triaedl IDeficitl/SLrplusforY¢ar l3,417 3,022 1,485 L8,839 3,022 -5,422 R•prq54nt•d by Roval 8ankol Scotland Royal eankol 5¢otlandlJaneV5 Fund) Paypal Ac¢oufit 14.829 3,022 77 13.417 3,022 Approved ByTru5tees 4rTr.'J?vember 2025 Independent Examlners Report to the Trustees of South of Scoiland Seekeepers Assoclatlon SCIO I report on the a¢counts for the year ended 31 january 2Q)25. Respective re5pon5ibilitie5 of trustees and examiner The charitvs trustees are responsible for the preparatlon of the account5 In accordance wlth the ierms of the Charitles and Trusiee Invesiment1Scotlandl Act 2005 and the Charitie5 Accounts Iscotlandl Regulations 2006. The charitV5 trustee consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10111 Idl of the 2006 Accounts Regulations doès not apply. It is my responsibility to examine thè accounts as requlred under sertion 4411) Icl of the Act and state whether particular rnatters have come to my artention. 8a515 of the Sndependent examinèrfs report My examination was carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Charitie5 Account515cotlandl Re8ulations 2006. An examinatlon includes a revlew of the accounting record5 kept by the charity and a comparison of the account5 presented with those records. It a150 includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seekg explanations from the trustee5 concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audit opinlon on the vlew glven by the accounts. Independent examlner's statement In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my ottention.. 111 whlch glves reasonable cause to bellewe that, in any rnaterial respect, the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 44lillal of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 21)06 Accounts Re8ulatlons,' and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting record5 and to cornply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulatlons have not been rnet,. OT 121 to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper undersiandlng of the ccounts to be reached. Farrie5, Kirk and Mcvean Chartered Accountants Dumfrlès Enterprise Park Heathhall Dumfries DUMFRIESSHIRE DGI 35J Date.. 4th November 2025 ## **Trustees Annual Report 1[st] Feb 2024 – 31[st] Jan 2025** The South of Scotland Beekeepers’ Association (SSBKA) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) that was registered in April 2018. Prior to this the SSBKA operated as a constituted organisation for many decades, providing support and education to beekeepers throughout Dumfries and Galloway. ## **Objectives & Activities** The Charitable purposes are: - The advancement of education in relation to training supporting, monitoring & continued development of new & experienced beekeepers. - The advancement of environmental protection in relation to beekeeping, by promoting the importance of the honeybee as a major pollinator to enhance food production & biodiversity, & to arrest the decline of the economically important pollinating activities of honeybees. The charities main activities include: - Supporting those with an interest in beekeeping in most of Dumfriesshire. Monthly meetings usually attract 30-40 members. - Summer meetings involve practical activities usually at the hives weather permitting. - Winter meetings involving educational lectures, honey shows, practical workshops such as candle making. - Delivery of Beekeeping Beginners Courses involving a mixture of classroom theory work & practical hands on training at the training apiary. ## **Structure, Governance & Management** The charity is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). It was registered in its current legal form on 28th April 2018. The Charity was previously a constituted unincorporated association but changed its legal status to a SCIO on 24th April 2018. It has a two-tier structure: - The **MEMBERS** who have the right to attend members meetings ( including any Annual General Meeting) & have important powers under the constitution; in particular, the members appoint people to serve on the board & take decisions on changes to the constitution itself. - The **BOARD** who hold regular meetings, and generally control the activities of the organisation; for example, the board is responsible for monitoring & controlling the financial position of the organisation. ## **Trustee Recruitment & Appointment** The trustees meet every 8 weeks. Trustees are elected to The Board at the AGM by the membership, and the Trustees from time to time may appoint an eligible person to the Board. Office bearers will be recruited at their next meeting. The maximum number of Trustees is 12 and the minimum 6. The Board comprises people with a wide range of skills, knowledge & experience required to run the charity ## **Charity Trustees** **==> picture [306 x 158] intentionally omitted <==** **Office Bearers as of 9[th] October 2024** **==> picture [310 x 67] intentionally omitted <==** Special thanks go to for longstanding contribution to the Board of the SSBKA. ## **Achievements and Performance** ## **Meetings and education** ## **Members meetings** Monthly members meetings are split between winter and summer meetings. The summer meetings were held at BeeSpace and included practical demonstrations in the apiary of various beekeeping procedures. . Winter meetings were held on the evening of the second Wednesday of the month in February, March, April, October, November and December 2024 and in January 2025. These meetings included: - February 2024 – - “Non-notifiable Bee Diseases” - March 2024 – “SSBKA Queen Rearing” - April – August 2024 - Summer meetings at BeeSpace Apiary - September 2024 – AGM and BBQ at BeeSpace - October 2024 – “Varroa Essentials” - November 2024 – SSBKA Honey Show - December 2024 – “Ethical Beekeeping” - January 2025 – Natural Little Bee Company gave a talk about their skincare range. The AGM was held on 14[th] September 2024. ## **2024 Beginners Course** Nineteen students completed a classroom-based “Beginners Theory of Beekeeping” course over four consecutive Saturdays in January and February 2024. These sessions were led by and . A practical session followed in May and more instruction was given at members meetings. ## **SBA Exams** Basic Beekeeper Exam - Three members completed three preparation sessions and then sat the Scottish Beekeepers Association Basic Beekeeper Exam. Apiarian Exam – BeeSpace was used by the SBA to hold the practical element of an Apiarian Exam. Both the classroom and apiary were used. One member passed the exam. Module exams – One member passed the Module 1 exam. Congratulations to all the members that passed their exams! ## **Swarm Control Workshop** from West Galloway Beekeepers Association held a swarm control workshop at BeeSpace for SSBKA members on Saturday 20[th] April 2024. Fifteen members attended the workshop where they spent a full day learning about effective swarm control techniques. ## **The Apiary** Phil continued to work as apiary manager and looked after 12 hives during the summer of 2024. provided updates to the members by email to let them know what was happening in the apiary. All of the summer meetings were held at BeeSpace in the training apiary. ## **Nuc Production** Eleven nucs of bees were produced as part of swarm control within the apiary. These nucs were offered for sale to members. ## **Queen Rearing** led queen rearing sessions using the nicot kit to obtain larvae which were transferred to a queenless colony to produce new cells. The mature queen cells were placed in mini mating nucs to allow the new queens to emerge and mate. The poor weather of 2024 made it a difficult process but still some new queens were produced for use in the apiary. ## **Association honey** This year approximately 460lbs of honey were extracted from the bees at BeeSpace. gets mileage expenses for apiary management paid in honey and which this year was approx. 210lbs of honey. The remaining honey was bottled and 216 12oz jars were donated to local charities and foodbanks. Those getting honey included Kate’s Kitchen (Annan), River of Life Foodbank (Dumfries), Thornhill Community Food Initiative, Lothlorien Community, Summerhill Community Centre, Foodbank in Stranraer and Dumfries and Galloway Multicultural Association. ## **Jar and feed sales** The SSBKA used their bulk buying power to provide members with the opportunity to buy honey jars and winter feed at a very good price. With the price of jars and feed increasing so much, this enables our members to take advantage of our ability to buy by the pallet-load, resulting in lower price per unit. The organisation of this, and the distribution of the jars to all the members that have bought stock, is a very time-consuming undertaking and relies on our Trustees to co-ordinate everything. Thank you to for continuing to order the jars and feed for us and to for organising the sale and collections. This year 179 jerricans of ambrosia syrup and 118 boxes of honey jars were bought through the association by members. ## **Use of BeeSpace Facilities** Extraction facilities at BeeSpace were used by members. BeeSpace has two large extractors, one suitable for national frames and the other fits Langstroth frames. It is possible to extract both blossom and heather honey. In addition, the honey warming cabinet, heather honey strainer and smaller extractor were all loaned out to be used elsewhere. ## **BeeSpace Garden** The garden at BeeSpace is cared for by . This is no small task, and they meet every Tuesday afternoon to weed and tend the garden. Many thanks to everyone that has helped to keep our bee friendly, wildlife garden looking so wonderful! ## **Swarms** Many members have helped provide a free service to the public by collecting swarms. Thanks to our swarm co-ordinator for organising this. Please don’t forget that you can opt into be on the swarm collection list through the membership portal - Sign In to membermojo _The Trustees would like to thank all our members for their input to the association. Everything that is accomplished is done so by trustees and members volunteering their time and everyone’s dedication and contributions are greatly appreciated._ **==> picture [121 x 56] intentionally omitted <==** Chair South of Scotland Beekeepers Association