2025 Beginner Bee School
This course is for the beginner to beekeeping. Our experts will guide you through your first year of beekeeping, covering equipment, bee biology, and basic management. We will discuss the many situations that a beekeeper will face over the year, and will provide hands-on experience in basic hive inspection and skills – designed so that each participant can learn a technique in class and return to apply it in their own hives. This course will focus on understanding the needs of bees and raising healthy colonies.
Face-to-face events (e.g., lectures, equipment build day, hands-on bee yard experiences) are currently scheduled and will be subject to the current CDC guidelines. Indoor events will be held in the large indoor meeting spaces provided by Matthaei Botanical Gardens. When weather permits, lectures may be held outdoors in the bee yard at the instructor’s discretion. Participants are expected to bring their own veils/protective clothing, and dress appropriately for working outdoors with bees. Some sort of veil/face protection is required for working in the apiary. We will use the club's teaching hives at Matthaei Botanical Gardens for hands-on skill training.
Participants generally choose to keep their own bees during this season, though it is not required. No equipment is required at the beginning of the course, as we will cover where and how to purchase everything. It is recommended that participants attend each class, as each session will cover new information.
Text: Bee school instructor Dave Pearce recommends an optional textbook: The Beekeeper's Handbook, 4th Edition, by Diana Sammataro. The cost is approximately $20 and is the student's responsibility above and beyond the course enrollment fee.
Note: Registering two (or more) people for Bee School? Please purchase/check out separately so we capture each learner's information individually.
