Practical Beekeeping

The purpose of this course is to allow beekeepers and individuals that wish to become beekeepers to obtain firsthand experience and knowledge in the practical aspects of keeping bees. The course will run the whole season from Spring Build-Up to Winter Preparation and will be about 11 classes long, with one class about every other week. All meetings will be in the bee yard located at Rock Bottom Ranch where we will be taking a natural chemical free approach to keeping bees. Individuals will have a chance to see all aspects of working a bee hive and be allowed to work the hives under the guidance of seasoned beekeeper Dave Storm. Dave has worked for a commercial beekeeper and currently manages about 200 hives located in Emma, Basalt, Snowmass and Woody Creek.  You may have seen some of Dave's products from his beekeeping operation, Wild Bear Bee Farm.

Those that have their own hives are encouraged to bring their questions and observations about their own hives to the meetings so that all may learn from them. Course topics will include: Looking for the queen, queen introduction, and how to make a new queen; The importance of nectar and pollen to hive health and learning what the bees are working; Extracting honey; and more!

We are now open for registration! Click here to find out more.