The farm and all the products that it produces are certified organic by the Kootenay
Local Agricultural Society under the Kootenay Mountain Grown program.
For more details on this please go to:
www.klasociety.org
www.kootenaymountaingrown.org
© 2011 - 2012 Jeremy Lack - Pages 38 - Revision 1 - Revision date 6/2/2012 11:45:23
AM
Beekeeping for Beginners Run in conjunction with the Kootenay Local
Agricultural Society
This is a seven month long course that starts in the classroom in February and has
6 field days with the Bees at our bee yard on the farm. The aim is to take start
up beekeepers all the way through their first year of beekeeping.
The first course day, held in a classroom in Nelson is designed as an total introduction
to beekeeping and is for both people who are just interested in bees and for those
who intend to keep bees. The class is limited to 40 people.
The field days are designed for those people who actually have bees and are either
in their first or second year of beekeeping.
In the past - the course has been charged for as one fee but for 2012 we have decided
to change this so that the classroom course in February and the field days are charged
separately. The reason for this is that many established beekeepers have asked to
attend the field days to polish their skills and we have has no way of including
them.
So the classroom course is charged for at $40 and each field day is charged for at
$10 - if the whole course is booked then a small discount is given so that the whole
course (classroom and all field days) is charged at $90.
The table below shows the brief Outline of the Course
|
Date
|
Where
|
Contents
|
|
18th February
|
Classroom in Nelson
|
General introduction to Beekeeping including details of equipment and an overview
of the Beekeeping year.
|
|
April
|
Field day on the farm
|
Introducing Nucs and Packages, bee handling and initial hive assessments.
|
|
May
|
Field day on the farm
|
Feeding, bee handling, hive assessment, building the population of bees, initial
swarm control and prevention.
|
|
June
|
Field day on the farm
|
Assessing the hive and the queen, swarm and population control, building the population,
honey collection.
|
|
July
|
Field day on the farm
|
Advanced bee handing, disaster prevention and recovery, honey supering, assessing
the queen and bee populations.
|
|
August
|
Field day on the farm
|
Honey crop harvest and extraction, bee population building for the fall, disease
control, preparation of the hive for the fall.
|
|
September
|
Field day on the farm
|
Fall feeding, consolidation of hives, preparation for winter and over wintering bees,
disease and pest management.
|
Some Comments on the 2011 Course
I really enjoyed the beekeeping class and would not have had the confidence to get
my own hives this year without it. I learned so much 'regional information' that
I couldn't learn from the books I had been reading. I really liked the format of
the first class 'in classroom' and the rest in the field. A great balance, I think.
My suggestion would be more information on organic beekeeping. I came away from the
class and I think many others as well, thinking it is impossible to keep bees organically
here. However I have since learned there are people doing it and would like to hear
more about this option. Thanks so much for the course, it was really great!
J.H.
I think you guys did a fantastic job and I know I am now ready to jump in and get
some bees. I really, really enjoyed the introductory day, in particular the survey
of global beekeeping was fascinating and very well presented. I've recommended this
day to everyone I know who has any kind of interest in bees - including experienced
keepers. Thanks very much for your extraordinary effort and skill!
L.R.
I really enjoyed the Beekeeping course Mad Dog farms put on this year. The knowledge
that was shared was worth way more than the money spent, and was though their own
personal experiences of trial and error - stuff you can't find in books! I would
definately recommend this course for anyone who is a first time beekeeper.
S.C.
What I loved about the course was how open both Jeremy and Nette were. Their knowledge
and suggestions were offered freely and I felt I could ask any question, which is
great for beginning bee keepers. I also really appreciate the natural focus given
to caring for bees which is important to me. Thanks for the great course.
A.C.
The April field day of the 2011 course field at Mad Dog Farm.
The January Classroom day of the 2011 course field at Nelson Chamber of Commerce
Building.
The 2011 Beekeeping for Beginners course was done on behalf of the Kootenay Local
Agricultural Society.It is the same course, amended for new information and tweaked
of course for any weaknesses that where discovered during the year.
All course material are made available to participants online during the year so
that a review can be carried out as and if necessary.
Click on the image to the right to download a copy of the course application form
for 2013