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October 21 and October 28, 2023
October 21, 2023 - October 28, 2023
9:00 am - 4:30 pm
2024 course date to be announced soon!
Calgary and District Beekeepers Association (CDBA) is pleased to present a City of Calgary approved Beginner’s Beekeeping Course. This course surpasses the educational requirements for the City of Calgary beekeeping license. It covers the topics that you need to know to start beekeeping and become a hobby beekeeper in your own backyard. It is designed to provide the knowledge you will need for the entire beekeeping year.
When
Two Saturdays, October 21 and October 28, 2023
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- 12-14 hours of beekeeping instruction and hands-on practice.
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Location
Parkdale United Church: 2919 8 Ave NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1C8
Cost
$250 includes:
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- a 2023 membership to the Calgary and District Beekeepers Association;
- an 80 page PDF book of course notes;
- 12-14 hours of beekeeping instruction and hands-on demonstrations from Ron Miksha;
- lunch, snacks, and beverages;
- an apiary visit; and,
- a certificate of completion following attendance which is required for beekeeping in Calgary.
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Course content will include:
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- Bee biology and colony behaviour
- Bee purchase options
- Beekeeping equipment and tools
- Beekeeping safety
- Hive Location Selection
- Hive Management during spring, summer, fall and overwintering (including swarm management, feeding and queen replacement)
- Pest and disease management
- Harvesting and extracting honey
- Natural nectar sources and pollination
- Beekeeping regulations in Alberta and City of Calgary Bylaws (including general guidelines for urban beekeeping)
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Instructor:
Ron Miksha began beekeeping as an Appalachian farmboy, managing the family’s 300 hives at age 16. He soon moved to Florida to raise queens and met a beekeeper with 400 hives for sale in Saskatchewan. Ron moved to Canada and grew that business to a thousand colonies. Ten years later, Ron went to the U of Sask, keeping his bees near Saskatoon while earning a geophysics degree. Next, it was Calgary and a few hobby hives in his backyard. Ron has written for the British Bee Quarterly, American Bee Journal, Bee Culture, BC’s BeesCene, and has been interviewed dozens of times by media and podcasters. He is author of the book Bad Beekeeping, the blog badbeekeepingblog.com, and he edits the ABee Landing Board quarterly. A past president of the Calgary and District Beekeepers’ Association, Ron is a director of the Western Apicultural Society. Ron is researching bee ecology at the University of Calgary. A prized recognition from the U of C is his Teaching Excellence Award – Ron was one of a handful of recipients selected from 3,500 eligible candidates..
Contact: miksha@gmail.com