About This Event

Beginner Beekeeping Workshop

Always wanted to keep bees but not sure where to start? Spend a weekend with renowned teachers and experienced beekeepers Bruce and Lyn White and leave with the knowledge and confidence to set up and manage your first hive.

Two full days mix clear explanation with plenty of hands-on practice, so you don't just hear how it's done, you do it yourself.

Day one: Getting started

An introduction to the beekeeping industry, with video. The design of protective clothing, and your options for hive design. Assembling equipment, and bee lining. What you actually need to start, and what new equipment costs. Handling bees, practical. Selecting a site, whether backyard or rural. Year-round management of hives. Marking drones. Requeening and the reasons for it, practical. Options for getting your first hive, practical. How to move a hive a short or long distance, practical. The day finishes with time for your questions.

Day two: Healthy hives and honey

The NSW Biosecurity Act and Code of Practice. Pests and diseases, and managing varroa mite, one of the most pressing issues facing beekeepers in our district right now. Support available to beekeepers. Identifying honey and pollen flora, practical. Feeding bees, practical. Increasing your hive numbers, practical. Catching a swarm, practical. Trapping pollen and other hive products, practical. Honey removal methods and extracting honey, practical. Marketing your honey, and valuing hives, practical. The day finishes with time for your questions.

Pricing (covers both days)

Members of Narrubuwan Beekeepers of Kandos-Rylstone Inc: $100 Non-members: $165

Not a member yet? Join before you book and the workshop price drops straight away, a saving that covers more than the membership fee itself.

Membership also connects you to our local mentoring, property visits with experienced beekeepers, and the Australian Beekeepers Association network.

Only 24 places are available for this workshop, so early booking is strongly recommended. Whether you're picking up your first smoker or brushing up after a season away, this is a genuinely practical, welcoming introduction to beekeeping in our own district, on Wiradjuri Country.

This workshop is run by Narrubuwan Beekeepers of Kandos-Rylstone Inc, a local community group focused on education and connecting beekeepers across the district. Questions are welcome throughout both days, not just at the end.

Book your place today.