Introduction to Honey Bees
Introduction to Honey Bees
Saturdays 2-5 pm - February 11, 25 and March 11
SpiritWorks Herb Farm, 127 Hideaway Trail, Whitefish
$40 per session / $100 prepaid
Introduction to Honey Bees will offer students a good picture of what is involved in backyard beekeeping. Taught by Master Beekeeper, Petr Ondracek, students will learn about:
the history of bees in North America
standard practices for hive set-up and maintenance
what to watch for (hive health, diseases, etc.).
There will be time for questions at the end.
Even if you don’t plan on being a beekeeper, colony collapse, Africanized bees, or the impact of bees on the local farmer and our food supply will be addressed.
This friendly workshop is designed to be a basic primer for the curious bee-lover…there will be no exam!
Petr Ondracek, M. Ed, is a Master Beekeeper from Canada. He received his Master’s certification from University of British Columbia in February 2016, and has been successfully keeping honey bees since 2007 when he started as a backyard enthusiast, (losing hives and learning from his mistakes for the first few years). Petr has done swarm recovery and hive set-up; built and developed beekeeping systems; and experimented with 10- and 8-frame hive systems. He has successfully wintered bees in the frigid Canadian climate for over 8 years. In 2014, Petr apprenticed with a master beekeeper in British Columbia, learning queen grafting, and introducing queens to hives for optimal success. He works with artificial swarms and nucs, and practices mite treatment without pesticides.
In May, 2016, Petr imported 10 Canadian colonies to Kalispell, MT and co-founded a non-profit company, Good Bee Co., with Allyson Norwood Bush, ATR, LCPC that specializes in therapeutic beekeeping, community education and outreach, and hive management.
