This beginning beekeepers course is all the buzz in northern Colorado
January 2, 2019
For three years, Rachel Petty has watched her hunny get the honey.
Her husband has been a beekeeper since he took a beekeeping class while they were dating. He’s been responsible for tending to the beehive in their Greeley home garden.
Inspired by her husband to be a worker bee herself, Petty is signing up for local beekeeping classes that are returning to the area and aim to educate newbees about the ins and outs of beekeeping in Northern Colorado.
“Bees are really exciting,” Petty said. “My husband tells stories of bee anatomy and their social lives. It’s very interesting, so I’m excited to learn about that for myself.”
The Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association’s is hosting the beginners course. The first session is set for 1 p.m. Saturday. The 16-hour course is spread out over one four-hour session in January, February, March and closing out with a hands-on workshop sometime in April, weather permitting.
Space is still available. You can register on the beekeepers association website. The cost is $125 and includes a one-year membership to the Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association.
How to register
Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association’s beginning beekeeping course begins at 1 p.m. Saturday and will have additional classes on Feb. 9, March 9 and a hands-on workshop sometime in April. Registration is $125 and includes a one-year membership with the beekeepers association. Space is still available and those interested can sign up at https://nocobees.org/beekeeper-classes. The classes take place at the Poudre Valley REA in Fort Collins, 7649 REA Parkway.
Those who want to register but can’t attend the first class will still have online access to the materials they missed.
“There’s a lot to learn about properly caring for honeybees; it’s animal husbandry,” said Josh Vaisman, vice president of the Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association and one of the class instructors. “It’s more than putting bees in a box and waiting for the honey. We try to cover as much basic information as possible so people feel confident to keep bees successfully.”
The syllabus includes lessons on bee biology, hive equipment including how to order it, obtaining bees and disease and pest management.
The association has been hosting area beekeeping classes for many years, and has seen an increase in interest.
“We usually have 100-plus students every year,” said Bruce Rice, coordinator for both the Colorado State and Northern Colorado beekeepers associations. “People just keep coming every year and we’re getting new involvement. It increases our membership quite a bit.”
Of the 70 people registered for the course, about a dozen aspiring beekeepers are from Greeley.
The Pettys have sold some honey over the past few years, but “not enough to make a profit.” Even though Petty’s husband has taken the beekeeping class, they haven’t figured out how to keep the bees alive through the winters.
“Maybe he missed something in his class and I can figure out how to keep them warmer in the winter,” she said.
Greeley, despite the flip-flopping weather conditions, lends itself to being a good place to raise your own bees — and by extension, your own honey.
“Cities like Greeley that are moderate-sized and have a lot of individual, single-family homes are really great places for honeybees,” Vaisman said. “It has all the resources honeybees need.”