Are you interested in keeping bees in the city?  Come learn the ins and outs of what it takes to keep a hive of bees happy and productive with the City of Vancouver's beekeeper Christian Duhme!

This is going to be an intense two day course on the basics of Urban Beekeeping.

When:  Sunday June 17th and Sunday June 24th

Time: 9am ~ 4pm

Location:  Southlands Heritage Farm (Balaclava and 51st)

Topics covered in the course include:

• bee biology
• equipment
• bee sourcing
• spring build-up
• swarm prevention and swarm catching 
• summer and fall management
• nectar sources
• wintering preparation
• honey harvesting and comb honey production
• introduction to queen rearing
• disease recognition and integrated pest management.  

We will also touch on current research into Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In addition to the ‘classroom’ component there will be demonstrations of hive inspections, mite counts and nosema sampling. Participants will be able to practice a hive inspection on their own with live bees. Participants should bring their own veil if they have one, otherwise one will be provided to you. Participants should leave confident to start their own hive while knowing that the process will require life long learning.

About the Instructor:

Christian has been a beekeeper for 5 years. He is the beekeeper for the City of Vancouver and keeps bees on the roof of City Hall and on Southlands Heritage Farm. Christian is a Certified Beemaster and the Head of Biology at St. George’s School. In 2007 his teaching style and enthusiasm was recognized with the National Teaching Excellence Award by BIOTECanada. Christian has a passion for anything bees.  When he is not ‘knee-deep’ submersed in a beehive he enjoys spending his free time with his two little children Markus (2 years) and Emily (3 months).