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Beekeeping expert back by demand

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After a successful and booked our course earlier in the year, the Mudgee Bee Group have invited Bruce White OAM back to deliver another beekeeping course in August.

Renowned beekeeper and industry expert, Bruce White OAM has spent his career in the apiary industry in NSW DPI. He has extensive knowledge of rural beekeeping and frequently delivers courses for Local Land Services and the Amateur Beekeepers Association.

Participants for the February course came from the local area and further afield, including Parkes and the Capertee Valley. In no time at all Mr White had people opening hives, lighting smokers, trapping pollen, finding the ever elusive queens in amongst her thousands of offspring and catching and marking drones.

“The course was fantastic; it covered a broad range of topics and best of all it was hands on. The natural way Bruce handles bees instilled confidence in all of us.” said Mudgee Bee Group President and course participant Beth Greenfield.

“We used the Mudgee Bee Group’s 4 hives to practise on and it was invaluable to hear his opinion about their health and ongoing management.” she continued.

The Mudgee Bee Group will be hosting another course in August and invite novice and experienced beekeepers, as well as people interested in starting up their first hives, to attended.
The 2 day course will cover topics such as protective clothing, hive design, hive management, biosecurity, honey extraction and a whole lot more in a hands-on practical weekend.

The course will be held on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 August at the Straw Bale Shed , Australian Rural Education Centre (AREC).

Cost is $275 per person and includes course notes, lunch and morning tea on both days. A discount rate of $180 is available for Watershed Landcare and Mudgee Bee Group financial members.
Numbers are strictly limited and you must pay in full to secure your spot. If you’d like to participate send an expressions of interest to Claudia Wythes, Watershed Landcare Coordinator, on 0412 011 064 or claudia.wythes@watershedlandcare.com.au.

The Mudgee Bee Group and Watershed Landcare would like to acknowledge support from AREC, for hosting the Mudgee Bee Group hives and providing a venue for meetings and the course.

This event is supported by Watershed Landcare and is a part of the NSW Government’s Local Landcare Coordinators Initiative, supported through the partnership of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW.

Buzzing to be involved with bees

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Interested in knowing more about bees and maybe keeping your own hive?

The newly formed Mudgee Bee Group is inviting any aspiring apiarists to come along to their next meeting on Tuesday 6 September.

Following a two day beekeeping course hosted by Watershed Landcare and delivered by Tocal College in April a number of Watershed members and graduates of the course identified a need for more ‘bee learning’.

The Mudgee Bee Group formed as a Watershed Landcare special interest group to provide more training, peer support and mentoring to it’s members.

The group currently meets on the first Tuesday evening of the month at the Straw Bale Shed, Australian Rural Education Centre (AREC).

The August meeting featured a couple of expert speakers; Sheryl McIntosh from the Amateur Beekeepers Association (ABA) of NSW and Atif Jamil from Hornsby Beekeeping Supplies.

Sheryl is the ABA Treasurer and keeps 30-40 hives on her Capertee property. She shared her knowledge on managing a hive over a calendar year with the group.

Atif’s presentation focused on equipment for a new beekeeper and the different hive varieties.

The group will be keeping community bee hives to provide novice beekeepers with an opportunity to gain experience in handling bees and is currently in the process of setting these up. The hives have been donated to the group and will provide the group with hands-on experience in starting and maintaining a hive.

Members will also see the process through to completion; extracting their own liquid gold. Obtaining all the equipment necessary for extracting honey can be expensive for someone just starting out so the group will have a pool of equipment available for members’ use.

Want to get involved? Then why not come along to the Tuesday 6 September meeting where the Mudgee Bee Group have invited speakers Hayley Pragert, Bee Biosecurity Officer from the Department of Primary Industries and Doug Purdie from the Urban Beehive Sydney. Doug will also be bringing along products available to purchase.

Contact Claudia Wythes, Watershed Landcare Co-ordinator, on 0412 011 064 or by email: claudia.wythes@watershedlandcare.com.au for more information or to RSVP.

The Mudgee Bee Group is supported by Watershed Landcare and is part of the NSW Government’s Local Landcare Coordinators Initiative, supported through the partnership of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW.