Ready to take your beekeeping to the next level? There are some great beekeeping YouTube channels out there, but there are just some things you can’t learn from a video. I couldn’t figure out how to monitor for varroa mites until someone showed me in my hive!
- Can’t figure out why your bees died over the winter?
- Need help spotting and catching your queen?
- Unsure about how to estimate when your colony may swarm?
Hands-on learning with a more experienced beekeeper can help you!
How the program works: The backbone of the BCBA Mentoring Program are group mentoring sessions at the BCBA Beeyard. Last year, we had five group mentoring sessions and successfully overwintered two hives! Group mentoring sessions are held once a month with hands-on teaching in 3 types of hives. All experience levels are welcome! Level up your beekeeping!
While we will strive to find you a mentor if you request one, there are more requests for mentors than available. Please consider volunteering to be a mentor to another beekeeper if you have one or more years of beekeeping experience AND feel confident monitoring and managing for varroa mites. Additional training will be provided if you need to brush up on your varroa skills.
Why should I volunteer to be a mentor?
- Mentoring is a great way to give back to our beekeeping community.
- You will sharpen your skills as a beekeeper.
- You have another person to network with for beekeeping resources.
- You may help prevent a future mite bomb in your colonies!
- Best of all, you will make new beekeeper friends!
If you don’t want more hives, but want to expand your beekeeping knowledge, mentoring is a great way to get more beekeeping experience!
If you would like to get a mentor or volunteer to be a mentor, please fill out our Mentoring Program Form.
The mentoring program will start about mid-April when beekeepers are getting their bees from packages or splits. Swarm season will likely start in late April. If you are new to swarm catching, sign up for the swarm list and request a mentor for swarm catching on our Mentoring Program Form.