Intro to Bee Keeping

For all of you interested in the art of beekeeping, Christian Duhme (aka City of Vancouver's rooftop beekeeper) is going to be offering a hands on, jam packed, two day workshop at Southlands Heritage Farm. I've been working with Christian for over a year at Southlands (I work in the garden, he works on the hives) and he's not only passionate about bees, but also a really great communicator. This workshop is going to be a lot of fun and super informative.
To register, go to urbanbeekeeping.eventbrite.com

More information on the workshop below:

When: Sunday June 17th and Sunday June 24th
Time: 9am ~ 4pm
Location: Southlands Heritage Farm (Balaclava and 51st)

Topics covered in the course include:

• bee biology
  equipment
  bee sourcing
  spring build-up
  swarm prevention and swarm catching
  summer and fall management
  nectar sources
  wintering preparation
  honey harvesting and comb honey production
  introduction to queen rearing
  disease recognition and integrated pest management.

We will also touch on current research into Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In addition to the ‘classroom’ component there will be demonstrations of hive inspections, mite counts and nosema sampling. Participants will be able to practice a hive inspection on their own with live bees. Participants should bring their own veil if they have one, otherwise one will be provided to you. Participants should leave confident to start their own hive while knowing that the process will require life long learning.

About the Instructor:
Christian has been a beekeeper for 5 years. He is the beekeeper for the City of Vancouver and keeps bees on the roof of City Hall and on Southlands Heritage Farm. A Certified Bee Master, Christian is also the Head of Biology at St. George’s School. In 2007 his teaching style and enthusiasm was recognized with the National Teaching Excellence Award by BIOTECanada. Christian has a passion for anything bees. When he is not ‘knee-deep’ submersed in a beehive he enjoys spending his free time with his two little children Markus (2 years) and Emily (3 months).