New Beekeepers Seminars
Updated: March 7, 2009

Many new beekeeping courses are offered by local clubs and on the web. If you know of someone that is interested in starting beekeeping or just want a refresher course, check out these beekeeping courses.

 

Capital Area Beekeepers – Short Course Saturday, May 2 & May 9. The Capital Area Beekeepers’ Association will be conducting their 22nd Annual Short Course in Beekeeping. The course is designed for beginning beekeepers, but will also benefit experienced beekeepers.

Part I on May 2 will be held at the Dauphin County Agriculture and Natural Resources Center, Dauphin, PA beginning at 8:00 a.m. Part II of May 9 will be held at the Milton Hershey School Environmental Center, Hershey, PA beginning at 12:00 noon. The cost for registration is $35 which includes a one-year membership in the Association.

For more information or a registration form, contact Jim Hoover (717-691-1413) or e-mail hooverdron@aol.com.

Map of Beaver, Mercer and Westmoreland Counties

Western Pennsylvania New Beekeeper Courses

There are two Beginning Beekeeping Seminars in western Pennsylvania. The dates and locations are:

  • Mercer County - Saturday, February 7, 2009 - Mercer County Extension
  • Westmoreland County - Saturday, February 28, 2009 - Westmoreland Co Extension

All classes run from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

On Saturday February 7, 2009 a beginning beekeeping seminar will be conducted at the Leslie N Firth Learning Center Mercer County, PA 9AM to 4PM. and on Saturday February 28, 2009 at Giannilli’s II (Rte30) Westmoreland County, PA 9AM to 4PM. Students will learn the basics of beekeeping. The programs are sponsored by Penn State Cooperative Extension, and the beekeeping organizations of Beaver Valley, Armstrong-Indiana, Northwest PA, West-Central PA and Westmoreland County. The cost for each program is $35 and spouses and children 18 and under is $15 including lunch. For more information or to register contact Beaver County Cooperative Extension http://beaver.extension.psu.edu or 724-774-3003 or 724-544-2900.

Map of Chester and Motgomery Counties

Southeastern Pennsylvania New Beekeeper Courses

Three courses will be offered in Southeastern Pennsylvania. One course will be a day long seminar hosted by the Chester County Beekeepers Association and the other two are more extensive classes - a year long course offered by Montgomery County Beekeepers Association and a multiweek course sponsored by Kutztown University.

Chester County Beekeepers Association

Mark Antunes will be teaching a beginning beekeeper course at the Chester County Beekeepers Association (CCBA) Seminar on Saturday, February 21, 2009 at Westtown School, Westtown, PA from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. More information and a pre-registration Form can be found at www.ChescoBees.org.

Kutztown University

Beekeeping is a fascinating hobby that provides a sweet reward and can turn into a profitable business. Besides the honey and wax they produce, the value of honey bees as pollinators of various crops, their highly developed social organization is eternally fascinating.

This series of lectures and demonstrations will deal with the nature of beekeeping including the life history, anatomy, and social behavior of honey bees; how to manage colonies of bees; equipment and site selections; pests, parasites, and diseases and their control; pollen and nectar producing plants and nectar flows; and more. The goal of the course is to familiarize you with the art of beekeeping so you can feel confident keeping and maintaining a few healthy colonies of your own.

Instructor: Dr. Robyn Underwood

Dr. Underwood has been studying honey bees for over a decade.  Her experience includes all aspects of beekeeping from colony management to queen rearing, from disease diagnosis to parasite control, and from honey extraction to equipment construction.  She has also given numerous seminars about honey bees to the general public, beekeeping organizations, and college students.  Her enthusiasm for apiculture is contagious.

The seminar will be held 8 Wednesdays from 7 – 9 pm: February 18 & 25, March 11, 18 & 25, April 1 8 & 15 at One TEK Park, Suite 1A150, Room 150E, Breinigsville, PA. This is sponsored by the Center for Lifelong Learn­ing – Kutztown University. The fee for the seminar is $175.00 payable to Kutztown University. To download a registration form, go to: http://www.kutztown.edu/academics/learning/pdfs/Beekeeping.pdf or contact the University at 610-683-1382.

Montgomery County Beekeepers Association

The Montgomery County Beekeepers Association (MCBA) will be running a yearlong new beekeeper seminar again in 2009. The seminar is usually the last Tuesday evening of each month from February to September except for March and June. (The March class is the 4th Tuesday and the June and July class is the last Monday of the month.) The course covers topics of interest for the upcoming month. Click here to display the MCBA New Beekeeper Brochure which includes dates, location, times and topics. For more information email Mark Antunes or call 484-955-0768.
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