Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Weekly 101 Update

Thanks to everyone who came out to Bee Night at the Brooklyn Brainery. I really enjoyed talking with you guys, and I hope that you learned something! I'm going to try to host semi-regular talks, workshops and seminars, so hopefully I'll see y'all again soon!

Speaking of which, I'll be teaching another section of Beekeeping 101 at the Brooklyn Brainery, starting February 21st! I'm planning on keeping the class size small, 20-25 people, so sign up quick! I'm getting a whole bunch of props and goodies to share with the class, and it'll include another honey tasting! Hyperglycemia here we come!

Sign up here!

For those of you who have been attending the New York City Beekeeping Meetup Group FREE Winter course, there is a lecture tonight, 1/26/11, at the Central Park Armory.

Today's topic:
Last week we reviewed the pests, diseases, and problems of bees. This week we will cover how to keep them from overwhelming and killing your bees while still complying with different sets of practices, ranging from "USDA Certified Organic", to "Demeter-Certified" to "Biodynamic" and others.

The invasive pests and diseases of bees, mainly the varroa mite, have created an ecosystem that is filled with both unrepentant charlatans and misguided but well-intentioned people, and even a few actual beekeeping cults. The concepts of "Integrated Pest Management" and "Metrics" will be used to separate the useless from the useful ideas.

A deep and abiding respect for the welfare of all bees will be combined with a healthy suspicion of those who can't keep a notebook to reinforce the point that while we may not be "our brother's keeper", we may have to be "our neighbor's beekeeper".

As always, RSVP with the group on their website.

No comments:

Post a Comment