Courses
Courses for 2022
Here at South Clwyd Beekeepers’ Association, we are proud of the work we do in educating new beekeepers and helping existing beekeepers to improve their skills. To this end we have run successful courses for both beginners – those with no prior knowledge or experience of bees or beekeeping, and improvers – those wishing to consolidate their knowledge and improve their skills.
As part of their training, new beekeepers can be introduced to an experienced mentor, who will provide advice and support during the initial stages of setting up an apiary and obtaining bees.
As well as providing the training, we also provide beekeepers with the necessary hands-on skills and experience they need at sessions held throughout the year at our dedicated training apiary.
Beginners’ Course
This course is suitable for anyone who is interested in the world of beekeeping or who wants to become a beekeeper. It is also suitable for anyone who has recently started beekeeping but has not yet completed a course. The course aims to cover all the essential elements of beekeeping through detailed presentations and open question and answer sessions. The topics covered will include but are not limited to:
- To explore the life cycle and behaviour of the honey bee colony
- To explain the importance of our native black bee Apis mellifera mellifera (AMM)
- To discuss the various hive types and beekeeping equipment needed to start beekeeping
- To understand the involvement of the beekeeper during the year, including summer management and winter preparations
- To discuss the history of the honey bee
- To explain swarming, prevention and control
- To discuss queen mating, marking and assessment
- To provide an introduction to honey bee pests and diseases
- To understand the process of honey clearing and extraction
- To provide an introduction to forage and setting up an apiary
- To provide practical experience in the inspection and handling of colonies of bees in our training apiary
A protective bee suit will be provided on loan for those who don’t have one of their own.
This course, along with the support of a mentor (mentors are allocated to SCBKA members who are in their first year of beekeeping and have completed the beginners course), should enable you to become a confident beekeeper. The course will run over four Saturdays between February and May with practical sessions in the apiary.
The course fee of £100 also covers tuition at the weekly SCBKA apiary inspections (Saturday or Sunday subject to weather), and the opportunity should you wish to do so, to be involved in creating your own nucleus of bees with queen and brood, which you can then purchase from the association at a favourable price.
There is a 40% discount for students at Coleg Cambria Lysfasi making the cost £60.
The lead tutor is Julian Hunter who is a member of SCBKA. Julian has been a beekeeper for over 30 years. A keen exponent of native bees, Julian currently runs 30 colonies and has a home apiary in which he has various types of hives for interest and comparison.
Dates for the 2022 course
(all Saturdays) are: – 5th Feb, 12th Feb, 26th Feb, 5th March 10- 4pm.
Venue
The course will take place at Coleg Cambria in their brand new community hub with the opportunity (weather permitting) to visit our on-site apiary for the practical sessions.
If you would like to register for the 2022 cours, please complete the form below.
If you require any further information about the beginners course, please contact education@scbeekeepers.co.uk
Intermediate (Improvers’) Beekeepers Course
Details coming soon.
Sign up for a course
WBKA Basic Assessment
If you have kept bees for at least one full season, have you thought about taking the WBKA Basic Assessment?
After your first season you will have built up your skills through practical experience and through attendance on a beginners and improvers course. This is the ideal time to take things a little further.
Successfully passing the Basic Assessment demonstrates that you have achieved a good level of understanding in managing your bees.
You will need to do a bit of reading in preparation, but the assessment is quite informal and actually quite enjoyable.
WBKA would like 50% of beekeepers to take the Basic Assessment, and SCBKA would like to support this approach.
If you are interested, we can put you in touch with someone who has already passed, or if a number of people are interested, we could set up a study group, an approach which has proved popular for other assessments.
If you require further information about the WBKA Basic Assessment, then please contact Education@scbeekeepers.co.uk