The District Beekeepers’ Association in Bolesławiec is celebrating its 65th anniversary. The association’s tradition is an annual gathering of apiary keepers on the eve of Saint Ambrose’s Day, the patron saint of beekeepers. During this year’s gathering, the postwar history of beekeeping in Bolesławiec County was recalled, beginning in 1949.
The most distinguished apiary owners were presented with Father Jan Dzierżoń medals and badges of the Beekeepers’ Association of the Legnica Region, to which the Bolesławiec association belongs.
Bolesławiec County:
As every year, local government officials attended the gathering with congratulations and best wishes, recognizing the work of beekeepers and their commitment to protecting the environment.
The association brings together beekeepers working in the municipalities of Nowogrodziec, Bolesławiec and Osiecznica, as well as in the city of Bolesławiec itself. It currently has 95 members. Together, they own 1,700 bee colonies. The association’s president is Józef Gumięga.
Association members have professional knowledge of bee biology, apiary management, hygiene and the properties of honey. They cooperate closely with Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences. Each year, they take part in training sessions and courses for qualified beekeepers and master beekeepers.
Association members achieve spectacular successes. Józef Gumięga and Andrzej Niewiadomy won first places in the “Model Lower Silesian Apiary” competition. Beekeepers from Poland, Luxembourg and Belgium come to learn apiary management principles from them.
During Mass celebrated at the church in Kruszyn, the homily was delivered by Father Czesław Misiewicz, the beekeepers’ chaplain and, privately, an apiary owner. The sermon focused on environmental pollution and the urgent need to reconcile the development of industry and agriculture with the needs of beekeepers.
Father Misiewicz also emphasized how defenseless beekeepers are against environmental pollution and the elimination of fields and meadows with honey-producing plants, from which insects gather nectar. Civilizational development and urbanization, alongside diseases decimating apiaries and natural disasters, are the greatest threats to beekeeping.