We have heard from a number of people lately that are interested in becoming beekeepers.
If you have considered becoming a beekeeper, or if you are looking for a natural hobby or a way to earn a living or supplement your income that also makes a difference in the world, this is the perfect time of year to take a basic course or attend a conference to find out if beekeeping is for you. Both of the events listed here are virtual and reasonably priced.
If you love bees and honey or want to do something to help bees, promote pollination or help the environment, beekeeping might be for you. Bees have been going through many survival struggles in recent years. Becoming a bee guardian in your area by keeping a hive or two in your back garden could give you immense pleasure, a deeper connection with nature and a sense of helping your community.
The pandemic of 2020 has left a trail of economic devastation in many places. Beekeeping is growing in popularity as a career where you can earn an independent income. As with everything else, there are initial expenses and there is a learning curve. You must be willing to be dedicated and loyal to your bees because they depend on you.
The best way to know if you are suited to working with bees is to attend a bee education event. These two upcoming events provide just such an opportunity. They are inexpensive and they are online, which means you can participate from almost anywhere in the world that has open internet access.
Is Backyard Beekeeping for Me? How to Find Information on Beekeeping in Fairfield County, Connecticut and Beyond.
When: Saturday, January 23, 2021
Time: 12:00 PM to 2 PM (US East Coast Time)
Price: US$25.00
Category: Community | Gardening | Horticultural
Where: This is a virtual event. Virtual link will be emailed prior to the start of the program.
For more information click here.
You can join their annual Beekeeping 101 seminar, which will be broadcast this year virtually by Zoom. The class covers all the basics of beekeeping, including how to get started: ordering bees, hardware, and supplies. It addresses the seasons of beekeeping, from winter through spring when gardens are being pollinated to summer when you can harvest your very own honey. Thank you for your support. --Natalya Johnson
Beekeeping is a rewarding hobby and puts you in touch with the natural world. Every pesticide-free garden that practices beekeeping and offers a home for bees helps to change the world in a positive way and expands the size of the global bee community… local hives, local honey, local bees.
"Beekeeping 101" is a different course. This 1:35-minute video by Tom Butzler at Penn State Extension is to market the PSE beekeeping course:
Kansas Rural Center’s Pollinator Conference Goes Virtual
The Kansas Rural Center will hold its Pollinators on the Plains Conference online as a virtual event on February 5, 2021.
The event will cover a range of pollinator topics, including beekeeping methods and strategies, innovative regional pollinator-based community initiatives, the intersection of pollinators with farming and ranching and information on the impacts of pesticides on pollinators.
The $15 admission covers a virtual seat at the conference, access to several presentations after the event and a paper copy of KRC’s soon-to-be-published “Plains’ Pollinator Resources: Keeping Bees and Protecting Pollinators in Kansas.” A scholarship is available.
The executive director of Bee Girl, Sarah Red-Laird, will speak about how she utilizes regenerative practices in her beekeeping operation. Other speakers include Leo Sharashkin, editor of “Keeping Bees with a Smile” and founder of Horizontal Hive, Daniel Raichel, the NRDC staff attorney and Candy Thomas, USDA-NRCS Soil Health Specialist for Kansas and Nebraska.
Sharashkin will talk about natural beekeeping and his method for capturing swarms to populate his hives. Raichel will examine the effect of pesticides on bees and Thomas will discuss beneficial agricultural practices for raising these pollinators.
There will also be breakout sessions that will include beginning beekeeping basics with Becky and Steve Tipton, who are master beekeepers and longtime leaders in both the Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers Association and the Kansas Honey Producers Association. The Center for Rural Affairs will discuss its project involving a variety of alternate hive types, and North American Pollinator Alliance founder, Jorge Garibay, will discuss his hive system and vision for repopulating Kansas with honeybees.
If you have questions about these events, please contact the organizations involved via the links in this blog post. We do not have direct information on the Penn State Extension course, but you may find it with a bit of online research. We are not involved in any of these events, we just posted them here to help our readers find some educational resources.