While she's not looking after her clients, this broker is a volunteer firefighter and an avid caretaker of bees
When Surf Coast Finance broker Nicola Tucker became a volunteer firefighter about four years ago, she wanted to make a difference in her community, and she continues to enjoy the work because of the people she meets and skills she has learnt.
And as if broking and firefighting aren’t enough, Tucker has also taken up beekeeping. After seeing a post on a local community Facebook page advertising a beekeeping workshop, she decided to give it a go. The MPA Young Gun already had a vegetable garden and knew that bees would improve its health and yield, and of course it would mean she could harvest her own honey!
Years since Nicola Tucker started as a volunteer firefighter: 4
Number of bee hives Tucker owns: 2
Approximate number of bees per hive: 50,000
Bees are most active in summer, so this is when Tucker spends the most time with them, but she adds that they pretty much look after themselves.
“You’re basically just a caretaker as the bees are essentially self-su fficient,” she says.
Tucker checks her bee hives every few weeks to ensure they are healthy and that the bees have enough space for their honey collection and offspring.
“When I started, I never knew how interesting bees were. I’ve loved what I’ve learnt from them; it’s never-ending.”
