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For beginners we offer
Beekeeping Taster Days
Not sure if beekeeping
is really for you ? Then why not come and meet the bees for a day and find out? The apiary has different
size and style hives in operation and during the day you will get a chance to ask all the questions you may have while looking
at colonies, tasting different honeys, finding out how to start, what you need and where you can get bees to begin and finding
out all about the beekeepers year and whether beekeeping is for you. Ploughmans type lunch included.
Next taster day April
2012.
Beekeeping Theory for Beginners
A ten week course, two hours a week which aims to
cover the main aspects of keeping bees as outlined by the British Bee Keeping Association, including colony management through
the year,swarming, disease recognition and prevention, hive products and honey production to name a few.
Next course 19th September 2011 Lingfield, Surrey or
22nd
September at Purley, Surrey Cost £125
Practical Beekeeping for Beginners
For aspiring beekeepers or those
who have limited experience and want a chance to develop their skills this ten-week course will provide all the help you need
to work confidently with a full colony and manage them successfully to produce a honey crop- all being well! We provide protective
clothing for use in the apiary together with the tools needed. Designed for the beginner it will teach you how to inspect
a colony and identify the different castes and sexes, how to handle bees and give you
an introduction to swarming, honey production and the problems of pests and diseases.
On Thursdays in April for ten weeks, from 6.30pm at the apiary in Whyteleafe. Course Cost £85.00
Courses for established beekeepers wanting to develop
and extend their knowledge and skills we run the following courses:-
Intermediate
Practical Beekeeping A practical beekeeping course
for those with some experience this course builds on the Basic exam course to develop further beekeeping skills.
It will include different swarm control techniques, colony increase, transferring to new comb, moving hives to forage,
using nucs and disease recognition and treatments. Held at the Whyteleafe
apiary, this is designed for beekeepers that have kept bees for a while and want to develop their knowledge further with like-minded
beekeepers. Start date May 2011 Course cost £85.00
Basic Practical Beekeeping Exam
course
Once
you have kept bees for a season the BBKA Basic exam is open to you. This course is for beekeepers who have had bees for
at least a year and is designed to follow the syllabus for the exam with lots of practical and a mock test as well as
all the theory you will need. The exam is arranged to take place at the apiary at the end of the course, but it is not compulsory!
It will ensure you have an up to date and comprehensive understanding of the basics of beekeeping. Tuesday evenings from 6.30 starting 24th May at the apiary in Whyteleafe
Course Cost £85.00
Queen Rearing
A whole day during which we will look at the preparation
needed to for a hive to provide larvae of the right age to graft and how to prepare hives to receive grafts to raise queen
cells. We will also spend time on the technique of grafting, practicing on prepared cups. A frame will then be used in a starter
hive to show the development of the cells. During the day we will also look in detail at using a ‘Cupkit’ Plug
Transfer System and the preparation of mini nucs. 10.00am
- 4pm Ploughmans type lunch provided. Course cost £45.00
Integrated Pest Management
Course A
one day course which covers the bio technical management techniques for dealing with varroa.Date to be confirmed.
Using Organic Acids
A one day course is aimed at giving you current and
up to date information regarding the safe use of organic acids to control varroa in beehives. Some of the topics covered will include the following:-Compliance with Veterinary Medicines Directive.Record keeping.Storing chemicalsSelection
of the appropriate acid to be used.Mixing/dilution of the various acids.How to safely apply the chosen acid.Timing of the appropriate application Next course November 2010
If you can't see what you want please contact us as we can tailor courses
to your needs.
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