Beekeeping Classes:

Beekeeping Class at Growing Gardens

If prospective new beekeepers haven’t taken a class yet, then you may be interested in these workshops designed to support new beekeepers through the first season.  The class is focused on Top Bar beekeeping but all hive styles can be taught and addressed. Spring is coming!

Come join us for a hands-on series of classes and labs to experience the culture of the honeybee and foster our connections to the land, environment and each other while gaining confidence in keeping your own bees. Classes will be held at the Growing Gardens Greenhouse, 1630 Hawthorn Boulder, CO. Cost: $400 per person for the eight class series. This includes a $20 instructional materials fee and supplies. Experienced beekeepers are welcome to drop-in any class for a fee of $60.00.

Instructor Tracy Bellehumeur has been raising her own bees in Top Bar and Langstroth hives for 3 years using organic methods. She is an avid gardener, crafter, and environmental engineer. The beekeeping series has been designed by Julie Finley-Ridinger, a Top Bar beekeeper of 14 years. An interview with Tracy can be found at: www.inspiredbeeing.com/2011/06/09/thefarmgirls/.

To register for Beekeeping Classes visit our online registration system: https://gg.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&mcid=form_115250 For registration questions contact Sue at 303-443-9952 x1 or sue@growinggardens.org. For programming questions contact Tracy at tracy@growinggardens.org.

Class I: Introduction to Top Bar Beekeeping Date: Sunday, March 11th Time: 9:00-12:00 This class will cover expectations and an introduction to keeping bees in your back yard.  We will have an opportunity to meet our fellow beekeepers. There will be a demonstration hive available for inspection and plans for building your own top bar hive.

Class II: Understanding the Bees Date: Sunday, April 1st Time: 9:00-12:00 In this class we will focus on basic honeybee biology, the caste and rolls of bees that live in a colony and cover the ecology of honeybees. In the lab we will learn about hive preparation, location, how to install packaged bees or swarms, and what to look for in your new expanding colony.

Class III: Honeybee Colony Care I Date: Sunday, May 6th Time: 9:00-12:00 In this class we will share how our colonies are settling in.  You will learn how to handle combs, trouble-shoot problems, manage build-up, and maintain the overall health. The lab will apply the knowledge gained from the class through hands-on beekeeping.

Class IV: Honeybee Colony Care II Date: Saturday, June 2nd Time: 9:00-12:00 We will review how to maintain healthy colonies and discuss nectar sources and methods of understanding nectar flows. In the lab we will review proper handling of the combs, assessing queen vitality and brood development and we will learn how to observe brood patterns and colony strength through the seasons.

Class V: Practical Lab I *off-site* Date: Saturday, June 30th Time: 9:00-1:00 In this lab you will have the opportunity to gain confidence and familiarity with honeybees and learn how to work a top-bar hive successfully. You will gain knowledge in how to manage hives for optimum honey production and colony health. We may begin to harvest honeycomb.

Class VI: Practical Lab II *off-site* Date: Saturday, August 4th Time: 9:00-1:00 This lab will give you a chance to improve your skills and gain more experience handling combs and bees. We may be able to harvest honey. We will discuss and practice sustainable techniques for monitoring and preventing diseases and parasites.

Class VII: Fall and Winter Care Date: Saturday, September 1st Time: 9:00-12:00 In this class we will review methods and preparations for maintaining a healthy hive. We will also learn alternative honey processing techniques. We will also learn the steps needed to prepare the hives for winter and demonstrate a variety of winterization techniques unique to top bar hive management.

Class VIII: Honeybees Give Us More than Honey Date: Saturday, October 6th Time: 9:00-12:00 Here we will learn how to process wax and how to make mold candles, salves and lip balms, and medicinal honey and syrups. This practical lab will be devoted to making samples of these various products and enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Highland Beekeeping Beginning Class still has room!

Don’t forget – The High Land Beekeeping Club still has room in its 9 hr. “Intro to Beekeeping Class” to be held Sunday, March 4th, at the Roxborough Community Center.  This class will give you all the information you need to get started beekeeping.  You’ll follow through from setting up your hive, installing your bees, tools and equipment, safety precautions, disease mitigation and more.  You will take home a flash drive loaded with beekeeping info.  If interested, please contact Jo Haugland at jo.haugland7@gmail.com or 303-916-7398.  The cost is $100.00 and is for individuals 18 and older.

Advanced Beekeeping Class February 18th

Join us at “To Bee or Not To Bee” on February 18th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., for a much-anticipated Advanced Beekeeping Class, “The Art of Bee Wars: Know Your Enemy.” Together, we will examine types, life cycles, and control methods for varroa mites, tracheal mites, and nosema. The presentation will also include bee dissection for parasite inspection with microscope. Gregg McMahan of “Rocky Mountain Bee,” will be teaching the class next-door to our store. The cost is $75.00

Successful Beekeeping Methods

I wanted to call your attention again to the upcoming class on successful beekeeping methods which is scheduled to start in another two weeks..starting on Wednesday evening, January 25th at 7:00 p.m. The further details of the class as well as location…are described below. Please also feel free to click on any of the further categories relating to the class..as provided on the web page below..which is live-linked to the Life long Learning website.
For those of you that are perhaps unfamiliar with the Life Long Learning Program..or my approach to beekeeping topics..I wanted to explain that this class will be qualitatively different from other classes on bees and beekeeping that are usually offered to the public. Most classes on beekeeping tend to be utilitarian oriented..with little coverage of the underlying principles and reasons that guide what we do as beekeepers.
In my role as teacher..or I prefer the term facilitator of this class..I will present the latest information relating to the problems and solutions we face as beekeepers [I will be giving each class participant a copy of Randy Oliver's recent article "Rules for Successful Beekeeping"..for us to discuss in class]. The goal of this class..will be to further deepen our understanding of not only our own beekeeping practices..but also to help us clarify much of the seemingly disparate information that circulates in the media and on the Internet. This class should provide a clarifying and rewarding experience for any beekeeper (or prospective beekeeper)..that has felt uncertain or bogged-down in their beekeeping practices.
Thank you for your further consideration of this class offering..and/or for refering this information to others with whom you feel may be interested.
Allen “Al” Summers

2012 Beekeepers School

When:  You must choose and register for one of these class dates:

March 3-4 or March 10-11  Classes will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Class Times:  Saturday 8 am to 4:30 pm and Sunday 8:30 am to 2:00 pm.

Bear Creek Nature Center (map)

Presented by the Pikes Peak Beekeepers Association  www.pikespeakbe​ekeepers.org
This day and a half comprehensive course covers all aspects of beekeeping in the Pikes Peak region.  You will learn how to acquire bees and the necessary equipment to keep them.  We will demonstrate equipment assembly and honey extraction.  Bee biology and the skills to manage your bees through the 4 seasons, including disease management, will be covered.  All lectures are presented by local beekeepers with years of collective knowledge.
Whether you are interested in keeping your own colonies, or simply wanting to know more about these fascinating creatures and their wonderful product–honey, this easy-to-follow course will open a new door into the natural world for you.
Cost:  $50.00 per person.  Includes the book “First Lessons in Beekeeping”.
*For first-time Bee School students only-an additional $10.00 buys one year of PPBA membership–a savings of 33% over regular membership price.
*Note:  Immediate family members–spouse​/children over 12–may attend for an additional $25.00 per person.  Price does not include additional books.
Confirm registration by February 24th with Mike or Sandy Halby:  719-528-5483  mandshalby@comc​ast.net

Beginning Beekeeping Classes at “To Bee or Not to Bee”

Gregg McMahan, of “Rocky Mountain Bee,” occasionally conducts beekeeping classes next-door to our store. The cost is $75.00. Please bring paper and pen to take notes. To make a reservation or for more information, contact Gregg directly at (720) 934-6176.

Beginning Beekeeping Classes. Register now to learn everything you need to know for your first year of beekeeping:

JAN 28th FROM 9:00 TO 5:00

FEB 11th OR 25th FROM 9:00 TO 5:00

MARCH 10th OR 24th FROM 9:00 TO 5:00

APRIL 7th OR 14th FROM 9:00 TO 5:00

 

Have a question about bees or beekeeping? you can ask members online at the NCBA forum: VISIT FORUM

Or  you can ask members online at the CSBA forum: VISIT FORUM

 

 

 

 

 

back to top