Bee Keeping, taster sessions for children and young people and habitats for native pollinators

Earlier in April I started a beginners beekeeping course with my local beekeeping society. This course has been long awaited, having been postponed for 12 months due to the pandemic.

In 2019 I had attended a couple of taster sessions at my local apiary. These are designed to help potential beekeepers decide if this is really for them. Apparently, the feel of the protective clothing and the hum of the bees in the hives can be quite off putting to some people, and stops any thoughts of beekeeping for those individuals right there and then.

This got me thinking about beekeeping for children and how this could be used as part of a care farm or green care space. There are some wonderful introduction sessions available for children such as from Hen Corner with their Bees for Children days. They cover the basics such as learning about bees, the role of the beekeeper, how they make honey, what they collect and the all important chance to taste the honey. They also offer an opportunity to safely watch the bees in an observation hive. 

These types of sessions could also be offered on care farms and if that interests you then the British Beekeepers Association has plenty of advice on Junior Beekeeping. 

If bee hives are not suitable for your outdoor space or your care farm clients you could look at attracting other types of bees. Yesterday I attended a fascinating online NYC GreenThumb course on 'creating habitats for native pollinators'. New York City Urban Park Ranger Ashley showed us how to make and care for a solitary bee house and how to encourage pollinators in to our gardens.

In my next blog I'm looking forward to sharing some exciting news on my Churchill Fellowship.

Child and Adolescence Psychotherapeutic Counselling and Animal Assisted Interventions

Back in January 2021, and as part of my wider research into care farming and green care, I decided to look more deeply into psychotherapeutic counselling. Specifically, I looked at an introduction to child and adolescence psychotherapeutic counselling, to give it its full title. 

This short postgraduate course with the University of Cambridge is aimed at those professionals who are already working with children and young people in roles such as teaching, social work or similar. The course explores the therapeutic relationship, safeguarding, ethical considerations, underpinning theoretical perspectives and neurobiological ideas, as well as discussing practical counselling skills that could be employed in a work setting.

Since I first became aware of Animal Assisted Interventions and Therapies I have been fascinated by the distinction between interventions, therapeutic support and therapy and which professionals are 'qualified' to deliver the different types of sessions. Additionally, there may be occasions when a professional's drive to meet a client's therapeutic requirements may inadvertently take precedence over the ethical implications of using animals and meeting the animal's needs too. Of course, it should be understood that certain types of session can only be delivered by persons who have the appropriate training and qualifications so I was keen to understand which Animal Assisted Interventions could be offered by care farms and at what point, or under what circumstances, would specialist professionals need to become involved.

Animal Assisted Therapy is currently an unregulated area within the UK but anyone wishing to offer psychotherapeutic counselling or similar therapeutic methods need to be qualified in those fields. Countries such as Israel and the USA are more advanced in their steps towards regulation and requiring professionals operating in these fields hold relevant and appropriate qualifications.

Dr Boris Levinson is known as the modern 'father of animal assisted therapy' after he accidentally discovered the soothing nature of animals after observing the reactions of his clients to his dog Jingles, who would often sit in the therapy room during sessions. Levinson decided to experiment further and is credited with building a comprehensive knowledge base for the field, despite scepticism from others at the time. He thought that the presence of animals could help to create a atmosphere that felt secure and safe for clients.

Animal Assisted Interventions and Therapies are still an under-researched area and is an area I would like to investigate further during my Churchill Fellowship.

 

Sustainability and OxCan

Since September 2020 I've been involved with the newly-formed Oxford Climate Alumni Network and in January 2021, I took pleasure in accepting a role on the their first Board as the UK Regional Climate Action Director. You may well be asking - What is this network? What does it do? Can I get involved?

Quite simply, we are a group of Oxford Alumni who are concerned about climate change and want to use our collective power and collaborative efforts to drive change. 

Whether you're an environmental expert or a newbie wanting to learn more, we will be running a series of wide-ranging events throughout 2021 looking at topics such sustainable textiles, sustainable tourism, food, farming, British flower growing and supporting sustainability in small and medium businesses. Please get in touch if you are from a non Oxford background and would like to know more about training or arranging training sessions.

We are also looking for individuals with expert knowledge in a range of environmental or decarbonisation related topics who would be interested in acting as mentors or knowledge contributors. 

Additionally, we are also looking for other Oxford Alumni to become 'Net Zero Champions' so if you are already involved with, or planning to become involved in, decarbonisation in your organisation or community then we would love to hear from you.