Buncombe County Beekeepers Club announces the 2024 BCBC Beginners Beekeeping School.
Nov. 16th & 17th, 2024
Warren Wilson College
701 Warren Wilson Rd, Swannanoa, NC
$90 per person Includes:
course book – 1 year BCBC membership – course materials
Lunch Included Saturday – Sunday cafeteria available at small additional cost
Seating limited to 100 participants!
Buncombe County Beekeepers Club (BCBC), a chapter of the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association, is one of the largest and longest standing beekeeping clubs in North Carolina. BCBC is dedicated to the education and success of those interested in the art and science of beekeeping, with the support of other local beekeepers. BCBC puts a great emphasis on education, because in our view, a knowledgeable beekeeper is a good, lifelong beekeeper.
This is an intensive two-day event that will expose new beekeepers to the skills they should develop in their first year of beekeeping. The content and course material is a newly designed format that received rave reviews in 2018. This course concentrates on what all new beekeepers should learn their first year in order to support a honeybee colony through its first season in their own apiary.
Saturday starts with a general lecture that will introduce you to the super-organism we know as the honey bee. This first session will explore the amazing life cycle of the honey bee and seasons through the honey bees eyes. The remainder of Saturday is spent in five separate breakout ‘round-robin’ sessions. As a participant you will have the opportunity to ‘get your hands dirty’ using the various pieces and parts of equipment that is involved in a beekeepers daily life. (Saturday includes lunch, with vegan options, for participants at no additional cost. )
Saturday’s general wrap-up session will review what you learned today and prepare you for what’s in store on Sunday.
Sunday starts with a ‘brown bag—bring your own’ lunch – question and answer session. This session will be held in the cafeteria and is open to everyone. Beekeepers will be on hand to answer questions and demonstrate items as needed. There will be a demonstration and video of how to install a package and a nuc in your own hives.
This is followed by several general lecture sessions that will cover a year in the life of a beekeeper, pests and diseases you should learn to recognize, the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD), how to get bees and more! The NCDA-CS Apiary inspector for western NC will be on hand to answer questions as well. The course will end with a general wrap up session, review, local supplier introductions, end of course evaluation and graduation! Participants will have the opportunity to meet and greet local vendors and order bees if they so desire.
Hands on workshops and demonstrations will not be using live bees – NO bees (or beekeepers!) will be harmed during this course!
| 8:00-8:30am | Registration/Check in |
| 8:30am | Welcome |
| 8:45-10:00am | The Super organism Life cycle Seasons in a Bees Eyes |
| 10:00-10:10am | Break |
| 10:10-11:10 | Breakout sessions |
| 11:10-12:30pm | Lunch (provided) |
| 12:35-4:50pm | Breakout sessions |
| 4:55-5:10pm | Saturday Wrap-up Day 1 Evaluations |
SUNDAY
| 11:00-12:30pm | BYOL (Brown bag lunch cafeteria optional) Q/A session—Nuc/Package install demo/Workshop Sign ups Learn about your local vendors sign up for certified and Journeyman prep courses |
| 12:30-1:30pm | A Year in the Life of a Beekeeper What’s Happening to the Bees |
| 1:40-2:45pm | Pests & Diseases |
| 2:45-3:30pm | Local Vendor Introductions Wrap-up/Graduation End of Conference Evals |
| 3:30-4:30pm | Visit with local vendors |