Introduction to Beekeeping
Now booking for spring 2023.
Available dates: May 6, May 13, May 20, May 27.
Call/text Joe at 416-994-3248 or email info@buzzingbushapiary.ca to find out more.
Start your journey with Joe in what may be one of the most rewarding hobbies you have ever embraced. Beekeeping is a tremendously fulfilling venture that gives back in so many ways:
You’re helping the environment. It’s a feel-good hobby on so many levels – pollinating local plants, trees, fruits and vegetables and assisting with building up the populations of bees in your community as they continue to face challenges.
You will be making honey! And lots of it! Stating the obvious here, but when you pour your first jar of honey from your hives, not only are you adding a healthy product to your pantry, you will be amazed by how popular you will become!
Connect with nature. Maybe you’re already an outdoor enthusiast, hiker, nature photographer, cyclist, skier or National Geographic subscriber, and have a well-honed sense of the natural world. Beekeeping will add a whole new layer to your connection with the environment. Bees are simply amazing creatures.
Become a scientist. Both fun and interesting, beekeeping will build a new bridge between you and science. You get to use cool tools like a refractometer! You can impress your friends at dinner parties with buzzwords (first bee pun here) like brood box, apiculture, festooning, propolis, and more!
You may even end up describing this new experience to friends and family as life-changing. You are entering a field that is unique in both its benefits and rewards, that will far surpass any expectations.
Let Joe become a partner in learning and discovery.
Joe has over 20 years of experience in a multitude of agri-businesses including orchid propagation, daylily hybridizing and beekeeping (hive management, consulting and instruction). His new Intro to Beekeeping Course, and now widely popular Beekeeping Immersion Tours, are serving a growing sector geared towards understanding the profound role bees have.
Joe is a passionate instructor. He is committed to your success as a beekeeper every step of the way. He values operating a local, community-based enterprise that strives towards the goal of giving back through education, remaining passionate about his own ongoing research, and making a lot of new friends along the way!
The Course. Fact-based. Forward-thinking.
Joe knows what you’re going through. After spending thousands of hours weaving through volumes of information on bees and beekeeping, he realized it’s really hard to get a clear view of the big picture. With this perspective he has created an introductory beekeeping course that outlines the following:
Detailed but not too detailed. Joe has distilled all the information you need to know for you to be successful in your first steps as a beekeeper.
Fact-based, science-based learning that is practical and engaging. Beekeeping initially evolved through observation, but as science has evolved, so has beekeeping. Joe enjoys being on this cusp.
Providing a foundation that gives you the skills to adapt to the curveballs that may (and will certainly!!!) head your way.
Small groups mean a personalized approach. Maximum 10 participants per class. The course delivery is based on different learning styles that includes written material (provided to each participant in a binder so as to minimize note-taking during the day), pictures and videos along with hands-on instruction in the bee yard.
What’s Offered
This is a full-day course starting at 9:00 a.m. sharp (coffee beforehand, but bring your own lunch). Instruction takes place at the Buzzing Bush Apiary site, both in the 19th century barn and then in the bee yard, until roughly 5:00 p.m.
Some of the topics covered:
- 8 beekeeping crimes to avoid
- Castes of honeybees
- Packages vs nucs vs singles vs doubles
- Locating your apiary
- 12 months of beekeeping – what to expect throughout the year
- Equipment considerations
- Overview of queen rearing and splitting
- Moving hives
- Feeding
- Colony diseases and pests
- Harvesting
- Inspections
What to Bring
- We recommend wearing long pants, long-sleeved shirt, rubber boots and additional layers for cooler temperatures (the barn is unheated)
- Protective equipment is provided: suits, veils and gloves are provided, and can be worn to your comfort level; this being said, a veil MUST be worn in or near the apiary
- For those who may already have some experience handling bees, please refrain from bringing your own gloves, due to potential biohazard contaminations
Fees and Registration
To secure your place in the Introduction to Beekeeping course, a $150 + HST non-refundable fee is required. To register and check availability for the spring of 2023, simply call/text Joe at 416-994-3248 or email info@buzzingbushapiary.ca
All participants will need to fill and sign the Buzzing Bush Apiary Waiver of Liability and Assumption of Risks before the start of the day.
The Aftermath
After the course you may want to engage in personal coaching sessions to help you gain confidence during inspections and acquire equipment, bees and set up your first hives. Please send your inquiry to info@buzzingbushapiary.ca