How to Catch
a Buzz Beekeepers offer beginners course Feb.
21
By Scott Nicholson
The buzz is back as the winter loosens its grip on the
High Country and local beekeepers begin planning for the year
ahead.
The Watauga County Beekeepers Association, sponsored by the Appalachian
State University Sustainable Development Department, is offering
a Beginners Beekeeping Class on Saturday, Feb. 21, from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m.
The association currently has about 60 members and is hoping to
grow, said president Amy Johnston. The beginners class can accommodate
about 300, and last year was the largest in history, with 125
people.
“We encourage either people who already have bees, are interested
in keeping bees, or just want to learn more about bees to come,
because there’s going to be a lot of good information,”
Johnston said.
Topics will include set-up of hives, start-up operations, bee
diseases, costs and markets for stocking bees. This year, the
beekeeper association will raffle off two nucs, or hives, and
vendors will have booth space with beekeeping equipment. Local
beekeeper Bob Cole will be selling books on bees.
The mysterious colony collapse disorder that plagued beekeepers
the last couple of years has not yet been solved, with hives dying
or disappearing. A number of theories abound, from the impacts
of pesticide use to electromagnetic fluctuations to seasonal changes.
Bees are needed for pollination of a number of crops, and Johnston
encourages the planting of native crops that are good crops for
pollinating insects, including bees.
The association is scheduling a field day this year to serve as
a learning laboratory at Johnston’s farm in Vilas. Regular
meetings run the first Tuesday of every month, March through November,
at the Agricultural Conference Center in Boone. Each meeting features
a speaker on a specific bee topic or issue.
The snow date for the beginners class is Feb. 28. Registration
starts at 8:30 a.m. The event will take place at the I.G. Greer
Auditorium on the Appalachian State University campus. Free parking
is available at Rivers Street Parking Deck, located on Rivers
Street. The charge is $15 per person or $20 for a family of two.
Breakfast, lunch and a resource notebook will be provided to class
participants. Local restaurants are donating food, including Reid’s
Cafe, Stickboy Bread Company, Panera Bread, CiCi’s Pizza,
Domino’s Pizza and Tupelo’s World Cafe. All interested
in learning about the beginning basics of beekeeping and the importance
of the honeybee are welcome. Vendors will be on site selling beekeeping
equipment and books.
Call Amy Johnston at (828) 719-6825 or email mountainbeehoney@yahoo.com
to pre-register.
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