Beverley
Beekeepers' Association
The local
Beekeeping Association for East
Yorkshire
Training
Courses
We
do recommend that you join your local beekeeping
association and learn some practical skills before you
start out. An ideal way is to join a beginners’ beekeeping
course. Most district associations now run courses - some
are leisurely spread out through the year, involving theory
and practical sessions, while others are intense
instruction over a weekend. A comprehensive list can be
found at
www.thorne.co.uk.
Here
at Beverley
we run a beginners’ course each year from the end of May to
the beginning of July at our apiary site off Long Lane,
Beverley. We lend students protective clothing as we open
up beehives and demonstrate how to
carry out some basic manipulations and checks. Experienced
beekeepers are on hand to instruct, give advice, and answer
any questions. You will learn how to handle bees, recognize
workers, drones and the queen, find bee eggs and larvae.
Most importantly you will find out if you really enjoy
being in amongst bees. The class usually runs over 6 weeks
on a weekday evening from 6.30 to 8.30.
For those who feel they would prefer a one day intensive
introduction to beekeeping on a Saturday, we are planning
to run such a course on July 4th
2009.
For those prepared to spend more time learning beekeeping
we can offer one-to-one teaching. Some of our members will
‘mentor’ new beekeepers by taking them on as assistants.
This can be an excellent way to pick up practical knowledge
over the whole beekeeping season and will enable you to
link up with your beekeeping guru for advice later when you
have your own bees.
For each of these three alternatives there is a charge of
£20 to cover costs, which includes friends’ membership of
Beverley Beekeepers’ Association, loan of protective
clothing, and a full set of course notes. Demand for places
is always very high. If you think you would like to apply,
please let us know as soon as possible, stating which of
the alternatives you would prefer. We are not able to allow
anyone to take up more than one of the
alternatives.