This beginners' beekeeping course will cover the principles of backyard beekeeping and your legal obligations regarding the code of practice and registration, from 1 July 2020, as a beekeeper, there are new minimum standards you need to meet related to:

• Inspections
• Disease management and reporting
• Hive construction, branding, and maintenance
• Recordkeeping

You will learn the theory of beekeeping including how to manage a hive, the history of beekeeping, new invention, honey bee biology and behaviour, pests and diseases how to identify and treat, equipment, and the terminology used in beekeeping. You will gain practical hands-on experience at opening a hive, handling live bees, and identifying the different life stages of the bees, harvesting honey from the hive, bottling processes, and legal labeling requirements.

Course Outline:

Work Health and Safety

• Lifting
• Burns and fire safety
• Bee stings and first aid
• Positioning a hive
• Registration and code of practice

History of beekeeping

• Langstroth
• Flow hive

Life cycle of bees

• Worker
• Queen
• Drones

The hive

• Brood
• Supers
• Feeding
• Manipulating a hive
• Winterising
• Harvesting
• Swarm prevention
• Pests and diseases
• Honey
• Pollen
• Recordkeeping

Equipment

• Clothing
• Hive Bases
• Boxes and frames
• Lids
• Nucellus boxes
• Flow hives
• Tools
• Extractor and bottling

Practical

• Hive inspection
• Harvesting

Learning Outcomes:

• Learn how to manage and maintain a healthy beehive
• Feel comfortable handling live bees
• Feel confident that you will be able to start your hive at home

What to bring:

• Notes will be provided
• Protective clothing will be required for practical lessons and can be hired on the day

About the tutor:

'Penny has been keeping bees for 7 years with three apiary sites around the shire she is the President of the Illawarra Beekeepers and helps to run training courses at the club. She has designed and run a very successful school holiday program Bees and Pollinators, for 8 to 12 yr olds during school holidays. Penny has recently completed her Cert 111 in beekeeping and is constantly working to expand her knowledge in beekeeping. Penny has presented, bees, insects, and pollination at the Royal Agricultural Society Farm Days to 1200 school-aged children, she loves to share her knowledge and is forever trying new bee-related activities.'

Other Information:

• To ensure resources are ready for you at the start of your course, we ask you ideally enrol at least one week before the course commences.
• All courses need a minimum number of students to run ("we try our hardest to get those") . If your course does not have enough students it will be cancelled prior to the commencement and you will be informed.