Training opportunities available at ABKA
Introduction: At ABKA, we have a very strong training ethic and our senior members have a wealth of knowledge and experience and also train beekeepers throughout Wales. We provide training for new beekeepers to support and guide them in their first two seasons with bees. We not only provide the knowledge required but spend time with new beekeepers to give them the hands-on skills and experience in our dedicated training apiary. Each new beekeeper is introduced to an experienced mentor who will provide hive side support for new situations as a “phone-a-friend” reference point in times of doubt. The full training scheme lasts for two seasons, consisting of the “Beginner’ and ‘Improver’ courses.
If people have no previous experience of bees we provide a free Taster Session for those considering enrolling on our course. Until you have experienced being in a bee-suit with a large number of bees flying around you it is difficult to decide whether beekeeping is for you or not.
So, let us help you make that decision.
Bees are very inactive during the winter but become active in the Spring. To ensure that the new beekeepers can practice what they have learnt whilst it is still fresh in their minds, our training year starts in February. Classroom sessions are scheduled for February and March and then the Apiary practical sessions start with the bees in April and conclude in September. Because the bees follow the weather and climatic conditions, so do the sessions.
Taster Session: We understand many people feel they would like to keep bees but are unsure about the experience of having bees flying around them. We give prospective beekeepers the opportunity to spend a couple of hours alongside an experienced beekeeper during a colony inspection. ABKA provide the bee suit and gloves so you are fully protected, then after a safety briefing you will be accompanied into the apiary to participate in a colony inspection. During this time you will see the various components of a hive and the basic tools used by a beekeeper (smoker and hive tool) to enable the safe handling of the bees. You will see the various areas of the hive and stages of the honey bee life cycle: brood (eggs, larvae, capped brood cells), nurse bees, guard bees, forager bees and hopefully the Queen! We will also show you what the bees use for food: honey, nectar and pollen.
You will also be given the opportunity to handle a brood and a honey frame!
Currently these sessions are held in the ABKA apiary in September each year.
If you are interested please contact: abkatraining@gmail.com
Beginners Course: Our Beginners Course costs £70 per person or £80 for a beekeeping couple. This is the first stage of our supported training programme for new beekeepers. It is designed to be highly practical, with much of the time spent handling bees in our training apiary. New beekeepers then have the opportunity to buy a starter nucleus of locally adapted bees, at a discounted price. Each new beekeeper will be provided with an experienced mentor to support and guide them for their first year of this fascinating craft. This enables them to get used to handling the bees and prepares them to prepare their new colony for Winter.
The aims of the course are as follows:
To explore the lifecycle, needs and behaviour of the honey-bee and how this knowledge is then applied to the management of a colony in order to keep them healthy and provide a crop of honey and wax!
To discuss beekeeping equipment and what is needed to start beekeeping and how to correctly assemble a hive and frames
To understand the beekeeper year
To provide practical experience in the inspection and handling of colonies of bees throughout the season (April to September)
To understand the range of ‘normal’ conditions observed within a hive (from setting-up to obtaining a honey crop, controlling for Varroa and preparing the colony for the Winter
To gain a basic understanding of the problems a honey bee colony may face
To acquire the necessary basic handling skills necessary to manage a hive throughout the beekeeping year
If you are interested please contact: abkatraining@gmail.com
Improver Course: Our improvers course costs £70 per person or £80 for a beekeeping couple (reduced to £50 or £60 for new beekeepers who have attended the ABKA Beginners Course).
This is the second and final year of the Beekeepers training scheme offered by the ABKA.
The aims of the course are as follows:
To identify and examine the management requirements of a full sized honey bee colony
To look at the importance of Spring inspections to gauge the health and needs of the expanding colony
To identify the pests and diseases that affect honey bee colonies
To understand about comb management to aid colony health, brood rearing and honey storage
To learn techniques used to control / manage swarming of honey bee colonies
To understand how to manage a colony about to swarm (or has already done so!)
To learn about the various ways of making increase from a colony
To have a practical demonstration of all aspects of colony management
Like the Beginners Course the vast majority of time is spent in the Training Apiary carrying out the different procedures and manipulations. There are normally three apiary sessions depending on the weather and the level of bee development. Improvers are also involved in the process of developing the nucleus colonies for the Beginners Course, which provides a strong link between both courses.
If you are interested please contact: abkatraining@gmail.com