Class 1: Saturday\, February 5th \;
\nInto to Honeybees and How They Work
\nOur first class will cover the basic characteri stics of honey bees and their food sources\, bee biology and how the \ ;colony \;works\, as well as a discussion about beekeeping equipment.< /p>\n
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\nCla ss 2: Saturday\, February 12th
\nBeekeepers as Guardians for the Bees and What's Involved \; \;
\nOur second class will cove r obtaining and preparing for bees\, including packages\, nucs\, feedings bees\, and swarms\, as well as spring and summer management\, fall managem ent\, harvesting and extraction. \;
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\nClass 3: Saturday\, February 19th
\nBee Diseases and Parasites and How to Control Them
\nOur th ird and final class will cover diseases\, parasitic infestations &\; vi ral challenges\, special management \;challenges\, and integrated pest management. \;
\n\nEach class will be taught by a member of the NWA Beekeepers Association\, including Ed Levi\, Winfridus Bakker\, Jim Pickett\, Steve Aust\, and Earl Rowe. \;
\n< p>Ed Levi began his beekeeping career in France where he graduated from a college beekeeping program and kept bees there for five y ears in the 1970s. He continued his beekeeping business in Arkansas and be came the Apiary Specialist and Inspector for the Arkansas State Plant Boar d\, where he served for 25 years. He is also an Eastern Apiculture Society Master Beekeeper. His teaching covers all levels of beekeeping and often involves Integrated Pest Management in bees. During much of the last 20 ye ars Ed has volunteered as a consultant for USAID\, teaching beekeeping in many developing countries in Asia\, Africa\, South America and Eastern Eur ope\, consulting on more than 40 assignments. \;In the Spring of 2019\ , with the assistance of a grant\, Ed organized and runs a queen breeding cooperative in NW Arkansas where the goal is to develop queens with high l evels of hygienic behavior. This co-op continues with this goal. He still maintains a few colonies in the Fayetteville area and served as the 2021 P resident of the NWA Beekeeping Association. Ed has worked with the library to set up a display area and a small apiary on the roof.\nWinfridus Bakker has degrees in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and is presently a poultry specialist for Cobb/Tyson. \;Win started wi th bees in 2009 and presently is managing 20 colonies at 2 locations in NW A. Both locations were setup for quality honey production. Win is also man aging a bee garden. \; He is all the time experimenting with which pla nts do well in NWA for high volume production of nectar and pollen. Win tr avels extensively for his work and has had contact with beekeepers worldwi de. \; He is currently serving his second year as the Vice President o f the North West Arkansas Beekeepers Association. \; Win also particip ates in the Queen Breeding Cooperative in NWA to produce more hygienic que ens whose offspring are demonstrating gentle behavior\, a high reproductio n rate and a low swarming instinct.
\nJim Pickett i s the founding President of the North West Arkansas Beekeepers Association . \; He is a retired physician and has been a hobby beekeeper for 30 y ears. Jim is the facilitator of swarm removals in NWA and heads up the swa rm catching committee of the association. \; His committee coordinates the removal and housing of 50 to 100 swarms each year. \; Jim also is a participant of the NWA Queen Breeding Cooperative.
\nStev e Aust is the 2022 President of the North West Arkansas Beekeeper s Association. \; Steve has been keeping bees for 20 years and has bee n a commercial beekeeper for more than 3 years. \; In that he ran a qu een breeding and queen cell production business in Texas overseeing the pr oduction of over 20\,000 queen cells a year. \;
\nEarl R owe is a retired teacher and superintendent of schools in NWA.&nb sp\; His occupation with beekeeping started in 2011. \; Earl has been active with the Northwest Arkansas Association&rsquo\;s outreach program b y playing an important \;role in educating the public about the impor tance of honeybees and their management. \; In that regard he is well known to have presented lectures in the public schools and other venues an d set up information tables at local functions. \; \; Earl initiat ed and coordinated the association&rsquo\;s apprenticeship program.
\n< p>This event is made possible by the Northwest Arkansas Beekeepers Associa tion (NWABA). NWABA provides area beekeepers with the opportunity to share information with others interested in beekeeping. The association also pr omotes the benefits of bees and beekeeping for Northwest Arkansas whether you are involved in backyard gardening or large scale agricultural operati ons. With over 225 members\, our association has grown to become one of Ar kansas's largest regional clubs for beekeeping. We have open membership\, meaning anyone can join whether they keep bees or not. Find out more at&nb sp\;https://www.nwabeekeepers.com< /a>. \;\nClasses will also be available virtually. At start tim e\, click here to access class: https://vimeo.com/event/1778764
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