If you have been thinking about becoming a beekeeper or are interested in the practice of natural beekeeping this timely class is for you. Janine will offer you the basics of keeping bees including bee behavior, time commitment, equipment choices and seasonal tasks. She will discuss why you may want to consider stewarding your bees with natural and sustainable practices.
The first three of the 6 class series will occur in January and February and the remaining 3 classes will be held at Janine's local hives. You will be guided through hive selection, location options, acquiring your bees, setup, tools and seasonal tasks.
Week 1: Explore the honey bee life cycle and nature of the hive, different hive choices, tools and more.
Week 2: Get a hands on look at the tools, discuss seasonal tasks and how to procure your first hive of bees.
Week 3: Installing your bees, observing and more seasonal observations, extracting honey, planting for your new pollinators.
Week 4 - 6: Hands on visits to Janine's local hives to observe the changes in the hives. The visits will be timed to observe spring, summer and fall activity in the hive.