Benefits derived from County affiliation

[Nat1]

As all activities are done by a District Assoc. and are for the benefit of a District Assoc. what benefits are derived from any district belonging to a County BKA?

 

[REDWOOD]

Where do we start
Expert advice
Friendship
cheaper equipment
training
lectures
help
motivation
nosema testing
free tea and a club biscuit

 

[itma]

Its a bit political.

Here in the County of Kent, some local clubs are Associations directly affiliated to the BBKA, whereas others are "Branches" of the Kent Association.

 

[susbees]

Its a bit political.

Now there's an understatement...

 

[MuswellMetro]

I think the pressure to be in a county comes from the BBKA in that it is one point of contact , for them it means less work

my BKA which is in Outer London joined our historic pre 1964 county now outside london in 2002 , this was in order make it simpler to get BBKA membership

but we found differences too great between between Urban and Country, So in 2012 we have moved our BBKA affiliation to a different County federation of independant BKA in urban London, but all BBKA paper work goes through that federation, it would have require a ADM agreement for us with 100+ members to go independant

wherase the london BKA in inner london i think goes direct to the BBKA even though they have close ties to Surrey

 

[WoodenBeam]

I think the pressure to be in a county comes from the BBKA in that it is one point of contact , for them it means less work

Not so. Individual branches have been contacted this year regarding swarm collecting - in previous years this went to the County (that is in the Suffolk area) so not necessarily the case.
As for the original question of benefits derived. I would like to think its where idea's and best practice can be shared between branches.

 

[psafloyd]

As all activities are done by a District Assoc. and are for the benefit of a District Assoc. what benefits are derived from any district belonging to a County BKA?

Strength in numbers.

 

[alanf]

It's basically historic as to why BBKA is the way it is. It began as an independent bee club and only later took on the form of a national association. By which time there were already independent local beekeeping associations and county associations. The structure it formed at that time was mixed and that continues. Some counties have a strong organisation with local branches where members meet up for a chat or provide local mentoring. Some are looser federations which cooperate for convenience, arranging lecture days, training, show classes and other activities. Some are not affiliated to a county and are direct members of BBKA. Some local associations and even counties are not members of the BBKA (or WBKA, SBKA, FIBKA). So the answer largely depends on what already exists where you are.

 

[drstitson]

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