The Bee Box Boys Hit 5,000

Kevin Jeffress has been making boccia slides and bee boxes for longer than most members can remember. But the bee box program has become something more than a side project — it’s become the financial engine of the entire Shed.

What the Bee Box Program Does

The Ku-ring-gai Council Native Bee Box program is a community engagement and education initiative aimed at increasing awareness of native stingless bees across the Ku-ring-gai LGA. Every year since 2006, the Council has distributed hives for residents to foster. They currently have approximately 700 active participants. The boxes house Tetragonula carbonaria — the only native bee species in the area that lives in social colonies, and a stingless species ideal for backyard keeping.

Record Income, New Equipment

In 2024 the bee box team recorded income of $37,199 — a new record — providing the Shed with a $17,823 surplus for the year and over $41,000 in the bank. That financial foundation has allowed the Shed to invest in a new digitally controlled woodturning lathe, a special thicknesser for soft timbers, a new V-nailer for picture frames, and a premium router table.

The AMSA Award Nomination

To mark the 5,000th bee box, the Shed submitted a nomination for the AMSA Innovative Fundraising Activity Award at the national conference. The submission was ultimately unsuccessful — the winning entry, from the Jurien Bay Community Men’s Shed in Western Australia, offered a genuinely remarkable service involving artificial reef balls and memorial placements at sea. But the nomination itself was recognition of something worth celebrating.

This story was first published in the KuShed Bulletin, 4 January 2025.