November 2019 Update: Beekeeping Training across Herts .
The following are available to all Hertfordshire Members. You’ll be kept updated with any further that become available across Herts
Please email mike.goodhew@ntlworld.com if you’d like to attend.
- New Season Preparation and Refresher Course
- Swarm Collecting Course
- Basic Assessment Preparation Course
- Modules
- General Husbandry
- Microscopy Course
- Microscopy Appreciation /Taster
- Healthy Bee Day
- Nosema Testing and Monitoring
New Season Preparation and Refresher Course
- Wednesdays 26th February, and 4th and 11th March 2020, Welwyn Garden City
- £15 (covers Hall Hire and Refreshments)
- A three evening course for those who’ve completed a year’s practical beekeeping experience, and those wishing to use the course as a refresher. The course includes:
- New Season Hive Inspections – first, spring, summer, autumn
- Pest and Disease Awareness
- Swarm prevention – Pagden method
- Swarm Collecting Overview
- Uniting Colonies
- Extracting Foraged Honey
- Autumn treating and feeding process
- Preparing the hive for winter
Swarm Collecting Course
- Tuesday 31st March 2020, Welwyn Garden City
- £5 (covers Hall Hire and Refreshments)
- To help those collecting their own swarms when preventative measures have failed, and for those wishing to become involved in going out to collect swarms; a fascinating and rewarding process. The course includes:-
- Background and stages of swarming
- Swarm Collector coordination
- The Swarm Collection Process
- Swarm Collecting Equipment
- Handling and Distribution of Collected Swarm
Basic Assessment Preparation Course
- Wednesdays 18th and 25th March, and 1st April 2020, Welwyn Garden City
- £15 (covers Hall Hire and Refreshments)
- A very useful 3 evening course for those with at least two or three years’ experience,
regardless of whether you’ve attended previous courses, self-taught, or a combination
of the two. - It provides a check for you as to how well you’re doing, and areas that might need some
‘brushing up’. Optionally you may then wish to take the BBKA Basic Assessment. - The course follows the BBKA Basic Assessment syllabus, covering
- Inspecting a Honeybee Colony
- Beekeeping equipment
- The natural history of the Honeybee
- Beekeeping in general
- Diseases and Pests
- Important: For those wishing to progress on to further husbandry, modules, and
microscopy training and wish to take the associated Assessments or Examinations, then you are required to have first passed your Basic Assessment.
Modules Studies
- There are 7 study modules ….
- Honey Bee Management
- Honey Bee Products and Forage
- Honey Bee Pest, Diseases, and Poisoning
- Honey Bee Biology
- Honey Bee Behaviour
- Selection and Breeding of Honey Bees
- Honey Bee Management, Health, and History
- Many prefer to study privately, but other prefer to form a group and meet to share the
study work between them, but with the problem of finding a number of other members
who wish to study the same module at that time. - Please let us know if you would like to set up and run a study group and we can let
others know across the County who might be interested joining a group.
General Husbandry Preparation Course
- We are currently developing an updated version of the course, and hope to run the
theory part autumn 2020 and the practical part spring 2021
Microscopy Course, University of Hertfordshire Bayfordbury Campus
- Note: The 2019 course is already full but hoped to run the next course autumn 2020.
- A very comprehensive annual course over 4 full days to prepare those keen to take up
Microscopy; including honeybee anatomy, an understanding of the uses and benefits of
Compound and Stereo Microscopes and their set up and care, microscope practical
work, bee dissection, and slide preparation. It also prepares those attendees interested
for the BBKA Microscopy Assessment.
Use of Microscopes in Beekeeping Appreciation /Taster Day
- Sunday 26th January 2020 – University of Hertfordshire Bayfordbury Campus
- Only £50 including use of equipment and provision of materials, and buffet lunch
- (there are only a few places left)
- Only £50 including use of equipment and provision of materials, and buffet lunch
- The appreciation day is aimed at those just wishing to know more about Microscopy and how it can be used in Beekeeping, and would like the opportunity to experience working with the different types of microscope and their uses in supporting beekeeping.
- The course is also for those contemplating becoming involved in Microscopy and wishing to know more before committing themselves.
Nosema Testing and Monitoring
- Saturday 4th April 2020, University of Hertfordshire Bayfordbury Campus
- The aim of the day is to provide the opportunity for you to have the level of Nosema in
your hives tested by supplying a sample of bees - You’ll also be able to see and ask questions about the testing of your bees being carried
out, either just out of interest or if you’re possibly contemplating taking up Microscopy - Hopefully if we can have a good level of involvement across the County it will allow us to analyse the level of Nosema across the County of interest to us all.
- Please put the date in your diary and we’ll inform you of arrangements closer to the day.
Healthy Bee Day
- Saturday 16th May 2020, University of Hertfordshire Bayfordbury Campus
- Each Association will be allocated a number of free places for the Healthy Bee
Day, and your Association will be contacting you in the new year to check who
would like to attend. - The Healthy Bee Day is an annual invaluable event with the Eastern Regional Bee
Inspectors who- give presentations providing up to date details of the various pests and diseases
including those that are notifiable, - cover the latest methods of pest and disease control,
- demonstrate good husbandry practices to reduce the possibility of bee diseases
being spread by the beekeeper, and - bring with them samples of pests and diseases so that those attending can see
and smell brood diseases first hand.
- give presentations providing up to date details of the various pests and diseases
