Why You Should Take A Beekeeping Course

A beginner course is your foundation to getting started, keeping your bees healthy and getting connected to the beekeeping community.

So, you want to get into beekeeping and you have done some research online, maybe you have read a popular book like Beekeeping for Dummies or Beekeeping in Western Canada (Recommended by Hiveworld buy here). Although that’s a good place to begin, it’s not the only information you will need to get started in beekeeping.

Beekeeping can be an enjoyable, interesting and challenging hobby or business. Every year is different as it is heavily dependent on weather and crops. No beekeeping book alone can prepare you for what experience lies ahead. To really help save the bees and make a difference, there is a lot to learn. A beekeeping course is a good place to start.

It’s Required

Depending on where you live, you may need to take a beginner beekeeping course. For example, if you want to give urban beekeeping a try in the city of Edmonton, the City requires you to take a two-day beekeeping course that provides you with a certificate. Your province may also have requirements like registering your bees.

The Basics

These courses cover basic beekeeping information, local regulations (municipal and provincial) and more. It provides you with the foundation to get started in beekeeping.

Most beginner beekeeping courses will cover the following:

• basic information about beekeeping
• basic bee biology
• local regulations (municipal and provincial)
• information about diseases like varroa mites and treatments
• hive parts and equipment

Answers From An Expert

Got questions? You have a chance to be with a bee expert and learn face-to-face from them. Your instructor will share the basic beekeeping information as well as their own personal experiences as a beekeeper. Sometimes the best part of a beekeeping course is the stories an instructor shares when asked the right questions.

Cost Savings

Beekeeping costs a minimum of $500 to get started (including bees and equipment). In the long run, a course will help you save money and your bees!  If you want to keep bees and have them flourish- you need to know how to do beekeeping. To do beekeeping well takes time, and you need to gain a lot of knowledge and experience to get there.

Local beekeeping information

You will learn universal information about beekeeping as well as how beekeeping works in your location and climate. Beekeeping varies depending on the weather and the types of crops/blooms you have in your area. A course in your area will have information specific to what you can expect during your beekeeping season. For example, did you know in Alberta we see one of the biggest bee population explosions during the summer months?

As always, we are here to answer questions and help you out. March is only seven weeks away! There is still lots of time to take a course and learn more. See our beekeeping course offerings here. We also have an online course if you can make it to a classroom!