BACKYARD BEEKEEPING 

Location: Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary Apiary, 8 Commerce Rd., Newtown, CT 
Cost: $50 per class
Time: 12-2pm
Ages: 12 and up (children ages 12 -17 must have parent/guardian sign waiver and provide emergency contact information)

Requirements: Students must bring and wear beekeeping jacket with hood -OR- full beekeeping suit with hood. Gloves, long pants, and closed toe shoes are also required. 

Have you heard the buzz? Back by popular demand, Backyard Beekeeping classes are returning to the sanctuary! There’s never been a better time to learn the time-honored tradition of keeping and caring for bees and we’ve got the expert to show you how. Ryan Griffeth of Necker’s Farm will guide participants through spring, summer and fall beekeeping with the last class instruction focusing on winterizing your colonies. Explore what’s happening in the hive, how to provide optimum care for the bees, and how to extract your own honey. Each class is tailored to what is happening real time with the sanctuary hives and our 1 million bees, ensuring topics stay relevant to the many variables within each season. 

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned apiarist, classes are tailor made for you! Plus, each student can text the instructor outside of class for guidance or questions. Sign up for individual classes or enjoy all eight for a fully immersive education into beekeeping! 

Class Six – July 19: Summer heat and dearth

It’s hot and we are in DEARTH! This is the most important month for beekeepers. We often get lazy in the summer days and feel the bees are on autopilot. This is furthest from the truth. The nectar flow has stopped, often throwing colonies into a regression of strength. This is time to act depending on what we see. Feeding during dearth, mite treatments, hive beetle treatments and ventilation will be primary focuses. A healthy and strong colony in July is the best way to overwinter. 

Class Seven – Sept 6: Summer clean-up

It’s been six weeks since our last class so a lot can happen. We will be focused on summer clean-up. This is more to do with accessing each colony’s strength and making critical choices before winter prep. We will be doing mite counts and checking for nutrition. We will also be checking to see if we possibly have a potential fall flow. 

Class Eight – Oct 18: Winter prep

We will be in full winterization mode. This past year we did have a fall flow that went through the entire month of October. This is very uncommon and was quite a surprise. Despite this luck we will demonstrate what needs to be done to winterize a colony. We will be covering mice, wax moths and other critters that see honeybee gear as a potential home. 

REMEMBER: All students will have access to instructor, Ryan Griffeth, throughout the year via text. This can be a game changer when stumped or simply nervous on what to do!