Weekly 101 (2/21/12)

Been a while since I've done one of these, eh? Lucky for you, there's a bunch of good stuff happening this week and next!

Firstly, I'm teaching my BEST EVER Beekeeping 101 Course at the Brooklyn Brainery, starting on the 23rd of February. I've been reading some fancy new literature and rejiggering some of my explanations, so expect to learn a lot of nifty information in nifty ways.

If you were on the fence about keeping bees this year, now is the time to jump. This will probably be the last section of Beekeeping 101 that I'll teach this season before I throw myself into new and exciting projects. (Apprenticeship program!)

Check it out here: http://brooklynbrainery.com/courses/beekeeping-101 $50


For those of you who have bees already or just have a passing curiosity, the Backwards Beekeepers of NYC are hosting a Wax Processing Demo at the Brooklyn Brainery on February 27th, starting at 8:30PM!

Please join the Backward Beekeepers of NYC for a wax processing workshop! We will be doing a cooking show style demo plus bee trivia with prizes!!

We will be covering all the live steps in rendering beeswax from the hive so it can be used in various applications, including candles, salves, furniture polish and starter strips for foundation on foundationless hives.

Open to beekeepers and folks who would love to learn more!

Hope to see you there:)

For more info and to stay in touch:
http://www.facebook.com/BackwardsBeekeepersNYC
http://twitter.com/beebeenyc
http://BackwardsBeekeepersNYC.blogspot.com/

AND it's FREE.

YES, THE BEES!


Continuing the excitment, Meg Paska, another co-founder of the Backwards Beekeepers of NYC is teaching Beekeeping 101 at TWO locations in March!

In Midtown!

If you have a sunny yard or rooftop and 15 minutes a week, you could be harvesting honey from your own bee hive! Learn the basics of first-year beekeeping, including honeybee anatomy and hierarchy, hive assembly, feeding, re-queening, and swarm prevention. This course is guaranteed to get you hooked on honeybees. Please bring lunch to the Saturday field trip.

Classroom Hours: 9

$213 for members, 191 for non-members.

http://conted.nybg.org:8080/WebModule/jsp/ed2df.jsp?df1=slayout&df5=123GAR347B&df7=course__122GAR347

In Bushwick!

Beekeeping isn’t just for farmers anymore! Learn the ins-and-outs of keeping bees in an urban environment. Maintaining an apiary is easier than you think - all one needs is a relatively accessible rooftop with a lot of sun, 15 minutes a week and tolerance for the occasional sting. With some patience, you can harvest your own distinctive, local honey and contribute to the pollination of your community’s flora!

In spite of what you might think, Honeybees thrive in urban areas like New York City. With an abundance of flowering trees and weeds, pollinators have their pick of as much nectar and pollen as any country bee might. In addition, they don’t come into contact with pesticides like rural bees do, so colonies tend to be healthier.

In this class you will learn about honeybee anatomy and behavior, hive function and construction, neighborly relations, urban beekeeping pros and cons, disease and pests, legality and safety and much more. You will leave this class with enough understanding and confidence to start your own colony in the Spring.

Basic/Custom Member Price: $80
Nonmember Price: $100

http://www.3rdward.com/3rdwardclasses/rooftop-beekeeping-101.html

What is the difference between Meg's class and mine you may ask? I'm not sure, but they both rock. Go to the one that's most convenient!

Also, she is a girl.

I am not.

Weekly 101 (7/5/11)

It's a busy time in Beekeeping! There are 5 great events going on this week!

In lieu of my regular hive inspection, I offer you this.  Same location, more convenient time!

Calling all beekeepers and wanna-bees! We've got an exciting weekend of bee-ness coming up in early July. Kirk Anderson from the Backwards Beekeepers (Los Angeles) is coming to NYC to wax philosophical about treatment-free beekeeping and letting bees be bees. These are two aspects of the method of apiary management that he and his club practice known as "Backwards Beekeeping." I'm a big fan of Kirk's and I'm sure you will be too. Check out this video to see him in action in Los Angeles!

Joining us for a 1PM lecture at Brooklyn Brainery on Saturday, July 9th, will be Sam Comfort from Anarchy Apiaries in the Hudson Valley. After the talk, we'll walk over to Added Value's Red Hook Community Farm around 3:30 for some hive inspections and demos. Tim O'Neal from Borough Bees will also be there as he has been kind enough to let us take a look at some of his hives!

On Sunday , July 10th, Kirk and I will be over at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm for a 2pm workshop on ways to propagate bees naturally and a Q&A session on Backwards Beekeeping. Eagle St will be hosting an Ice Cream Social Fundraiser after, and then the Honeysuckle Rosies will be hosting another Bees N' Beers at 4PM in Greenpoint to allow all the beekeepers who attended to talk shop and share ideas (and of course drink some beerskis in the process!)

Best of all, the events are free. So come out, open up your mind and get ready to let the bees get in yr brains! :)

Yup... This is going to be good. I am going to be at all four events (Brainery, Red Hook, Eagle Street, and Bees N' Beers) so come out, say hi, and learn a metric shit-ton about alternative beekeeping practices.

While my own personal beekeeping style is somewhat more conservative than that practiced by Misters Anderson and Comfort, I am seriously looking forward to learning about their techniques and picking their brains.


Finally, the NYC Beekeeping Group is offering a small group hive inspection this Saturday, July 9th, from 9-Noon:

Been waiting to get a taste of hands-on beekeeping?

Been to class and ready to experience the real thing, but no hives of your own?

Hives of your own, but got questions and want the benefit of an experienced eye?


Here's an opportunity to join us for a guided inspection of a Community Apiary -

We have a limited number of open spots for this session.

Those waitlisted will have priority for the next one.


Please email with any questions: nycbeekeeping@gmail.com

Thanks!

As always with the NYC Beekeeping Group, the event is free and is likely to be very enlightening!

Weekly 101 (3/16/11)

Well, my beekeeping class for the spring is over and I had a lot of fun with it. As usual, I forgot to take a picture until the very end after people had already started to leave, but here are the fine ladies and gentlemen that I managed to corral after the final honey tasting.

People!  Learning about bees!  Awesome!

Hooray, Beekeeping 101!

Keep on the lookout for more short bee lectures, viewings, and one-offs at the Brooklyn Brainery!

As usual, the NYC Beekeeping Group is hosting one of their FREE Winter course lectures tonight, March 16 at 6.30PM! It promises to be another interesting one:

We will start with a summary of how we get our honey "From Rooftop to Tabletop." We will then get back to the comb analysis work we started last week, with more of the high-resolution photos showing unique conditions worth noticing.

As always, the classes are held at the Central Park Armory and you need to RSVP with the group on their website.