Boston Flora

Tag: Beekeeping

  • Saturday, July 25, 8:00 am – 6:00 pm – 4th Annual NWTF Women in the Outdoors Event

    On Saturday, July 25, the National Wild Turkey Federation will hold its 4th Annual Women in the Outdoors event, named the Best Special Event in the Nation for 2012, 2013, and 2014.  Portions of this day are sponsored by the Mass Wildlife “Becoming an Outdoors Woman” program.  The activities will be held at the Auburn Sportsman’s Club (ah, the irony that it’s at a Sportsman’s Club) at 50 Elm Street in Auburn.  Activities will include Archery 101, Explore Bowhunting, Kayaking, Fly Fishing 101, Beekeeping, Trap-Shooting, Outdoor Photography, Intro to Handguns, Rifle Marksmanship, Woodsmanship, Tactical Firearms, Turkey Hunting 101, Intro to Trapping, Game Processing (oh yes), Basic Self-Defense for Women (judo and Jujitsu), Advanced Self-Defense, Falconry, Wilderness Survival, Dutch Oven Cooking, Map & Compass, Massachusetts License to Carry Certification, Power Tools 101, Treestand Safety, Knife/Hawk Throwing, The Notorious Nefarious Necessary Nettle, Wildcrafting Weedwalk, The Black Bear in Massachusetts lecture, and Blade Honing.  Participants will choose 7 of the courses offered, and when registering you will rank them in order of preference.  Five to seven will serve as alternates due to space and scheduling.  Registration fee $75 for ages 18 and older, $45 for ages 13 – 17, which includes tuition, WITO membership and meals.  Complete registration form is available at http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/education-events/2015-wito-flyer-pdf-567k.pdf.  For more information contact Kathy Dalbec at 978-870-4830, email mkdalbec@gmail.com, or Jen Ford at 508-340-9120, email jford9900@gmail.com.

  • Saturday, April 26 OR Saturday, May 3, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Setting Up a Beehive

    Join beekeeper Jan Johnson for step-by-step instruction and demonstration on setting up a beehive, beginning indoors with a close-up look at how bees arrive for installation. This Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop will be conducted off-site, and registrants will be informed of the venue in advance. Safety equipment, how to stay protected, structural components, assembly and siting of the hive will be discussed. Jan will then demonstrate how to introduce bees into a new hive. Participants will be able to observe from a safe distance.

    This program is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 26 or May 3 at 2 pm. These dates are subject to weather conditions and bee delivery. Once you sign up for the workshop, we will keep you posted about the actual day the workshop will occur. It will take place on a weekend. A list of suggested safety equipment is listed below although these items are not mandatory. Protective gear should include a hat and face veil, long-sleeved shirt and pants (or bee suit) and protective boots. Gloves are helpful. Following the demonstration, Jan will be on hand to answer questions.

    $25 for BBG members, $35 for nonmembers.  Register at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or call 413-298-3926, x 15.

    http://www.berkshirebotanical.org//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Beehive2.jpg

  • Sunday, January 19, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – What is Beekeeping All About?

    This Tower Hill Botanic Garden talk on Sunday, January 19, from 1 – 2 will focus on the critical role honeybees play in our ecosystem, including your vegetable garden, and will explain management of honeybee colonies through the seasons in Central Massachusetts. Mary Duane, Past President, Worcester County Beekeeper’s Association, will present this talk, free with admission to the Garden. Learn what you can do to help to protect the honeybee, including becoming a beekeeper. Registration recommended.

    http://outdoorplace.org/beekeeping/graphics/vitvitsky1.gif

  • Saturday, January 4, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Beekeeping for Gardeners

    Learn how to start a honeybee colony, the seasonal management required to keep a healthy hive of bees and the role of pollinators and their relationship to flowering plants. Novice beekeepers, or those who are considering becoming beekeepers, will get an overview of the beekeeper’s job and learn to make the correct choices when starting a backyard apiary. Equipment and tools used by the beekeeper will be discussed, and step-by-step instructions for starting a new colony of bees will be covered. At the end of the workshop, participants should have a solid understanding of how to successfully begin as a new beekeeper. The final hour of the program will be a Q&A session covering questions, issues and problems, with realistic solutions for a successful beekeeping experience.

    The program, led by Dan Conlon, will take place at Berkshire Botanical Garden on Saturday, January 4, from 10 – 1, and bees can be ordered from Dan so participants can start a hive in the spring. Cost of the class is $35 for BBG members, $45 for non members, and you may register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or by calling 413-298-3926 x 15.

    Dan Conlon owns Warm Colors Apiary in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. Warm Colors maintains bee yards in western Massachusetts for honey production and pollination services on area farms. Dan is a full-time beekeeper and President of the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association. He was recognized as the Eastern Apicultural Society’s 2004 Beekeeper of the Year and the Massachusetts 2005 Beekeeper of the Year.

    http://www.honey.com/images/made/images/uploads/suppliers/8043_200_197_75.jpg

  • Tuesday, September 10, 1:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Bee Day at Harvard

    On Tuesday, September 10, participate in a day of events and activities highlighting the importance of honey bees and beekeeping to biodiversity, the food supply, and human health. Learn more about the alarming decline of beehives (colony collapse disorder) widely documented in the U.S. and Europe.

    Event Schedule
    1:00–2:00 pm: The Plaza (in front of the Science Center)
    Enjoy organic honey tasting at the Harvard Farmers’ Market.

    4:00 pm
    Take a tour of the beehives on Harvard’s campus, led by Harvard Undergraduate Beekeepers. Preregistration required; please visit the HMSC website for more information: www.hmsc.harvard.edu.

    7:00 pm: Science Center, Hall C
    Film screening of More Than Honey, followed by a discussion with Dr. Alex Lu, Associate Professor of Environmental Exposure Biology, Harvard School of Public Health, about current research on the link between colony collapse disorder and the use of agricultural pesticides.

    Jointly sponsored by the Harvard Museum of Natural History, Harvard Undergraduate Beekeepers, the Harvard Farmers’ Market, the Food Literacy Project, and the Cambridge Entomological Club.

    All activities and events are free and open to the public. The Plaza and the Science Center, 1 Oxford Street. Free event parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage. For more information, visit www.hmnh.harvard.edu.

    http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/morethanhoney/images/poster-xlarge.jpg

  • Tuesday, June 4, 10:30 am – The Buzz on Honeybees

    The Acton Garden Club will host Barbara MacPhee, beekeeper for over thirty years and Beekeeper of the Year in 2009, on Tuesday, June 4, beginning at 10:30 am at Acton Town Hall, Room 204, 472 Main Street in Acton.  Barbara will discuss the family, home, and the products of bees, and will talk about the research she is doing with Colony Collapse Disorder.  For more information visit www.actongardenclub.org.

    http://data.whicdn.com/images/28206305/il_570xN.330413112_large.jpg

  • Monday, September 24 – Monday, October 22, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – What’s the Buzz? An Urban Beekeeping Primer

    This Cambridge Center for Adult Education five session class with Mel Gadd (below) on Mondays, September 24 – October 22 from 6 – 8 will give an overview of urban beekeeping, covering a brief history of beekeeping, bee biology, and getting started in urban beekeeping. We will go over the basics of beekeeping, types of bee hives, equipment needed to get started, locating the hive, options for getting bees, starting the hive, first-year activities of the beekeeper, products of the hive, and resources available to new beekeepers, with the ultimate goal of participants being able to start keeping bees on their own next spring. Limited to 12. $138 tuition.  Register at www.ccae.org.  The class takes place at 42 Brattle Street in Cambridge.

  • Tuesday, August 14, 8:00 pm – American Beekeeping Federation Webinar: Beekeeping 101: To Be or Not to Bee

    Hey, I don’t make up the titles.  The American Beekeeping Association’s Conversation with a Beekeeper Webinar Series begins Tuesday, August 14 at 8 pm Eastern Time with Beekeeping 101: To Be or Not to Bee. The ABF Education Committee has been hard at work developing new ways to keep its members engaged and informed in between ABF annual conferences each year. To this end, the ABF is pleased to announce a special nine-part series within the “Conversation with a Beekeeper” Webinar series. This series will be titled “Beekeeping 101” and will feature Dr. Roger Hoopingarner (pictured below), professor emeritus at Michigan State University. Whether you are brand new to the world of beekeeping or you just need to have a refresher course, this “Beekeeping 101” series will be a great educational experience with many topics focused on the biology and management of honey bees.  Learn more, and register, at www.abfnet.org.

  • Saturday, June 23, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Boston’s Second Annual Tour de Hives

    Boston 2nd Tour de Hives, 10-4, will be starting at the Growing Center (Somerville) with Warre Hives, continue in Inman Square (beekeeping and research), picnic with the Bee-U. Beekeepers club, and a Grand Finale at the Museum of Science.  Check https://www.facebook.com/events/297115667029162/  Pre-registration is now open:  http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/247983

  • Saturday, February 4, 9:00 am – 12:00 noon – Beekeeping for Gardeners: Getting Started in Backyard Beekeeping

    This Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop on Saturday, February 4 from 9 – 12 is for everyone with an interest in honeybees and beekeeping. Learn how to start a honeybee colony, the seasonal management required to keep a healthy hive of bees and the role of pollinators and their relationship to flowering plants. Topics provide an overview of the beekeeper’s job, and will help new beekeepers, or those who are considering becoming a beekeeper, to make the correct choices for starting a backyard apiary. Equipment and tools used by the beekeeper will be discussed, and step-by-step instructions for starting a new colony of bees will be covered. At the end of the workshop participants should have a solid understanding of how to successfully begin as a new beekeeper.

    Dan Conlon owns Warm Colors Apiary in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. Warm Colors maintains bee yards in western Mass for honey production, and to provide pollination services on area farms. As a full-time beekeeper, concerned with the decline of all bees, Dan focuses on management that improves Queen development & health, colony nutrition, and reduces the environmental risks threatening bees. He is President of the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association, and was recognized as the Eastern Apicultural Society’s 2004 Beekeeper of the Year, and the Massachusetts 2005 Beekeeper of the Year. Register online ($37 BBG members, $45 non-members) at www.berkshirebotanical.org.  Photo of Dan’s Russian Queen Bee Yard below from www.commonweeder.com.