Education & Workshops 2025

THE BEE SCHOOL 2025 CLASSES

We run THE BEE SCHOOL at Black Birch Farm Apiaries. All of our classes are "hands on" and are held at specific times of the beekeeping year so students can immediately apply what they have learned

  • Interested in Keeping Honey Bees?

  • Are you a beekeeper wanting to increase you hive management skills?

  • Are you interested in how to maintain a sustainable apiary reducing expensive hive failure and queen costs?

If any of the above are of interest, the Bee School at Black Birch Farm Apiaries offers the necessary hands-on education to become a more successful and sustainable beekeeper. The Bee School offers our main courses on all aspects of beekeeping with specialized courses offered throughout the year at times when they will be most beneficial to novice and expert beekeeper alike.

The Bee School, through its diverse and timely education programs is a resource center for the region's beekeepers, no matter their level of expertise. 

WE HOLD THESE COURSES ANNUALLY ~ FOR FUTURE COURSE OFFERINGS PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

 

REVIEW COMPLETE LIST OF AVAILABLE BEE SCHOOL 2025 CLASSES BELOW:

 

Our Intro Class ~

Bee School Course 1:
SUSTAINABLE BEEKEEPING

(This is an online course)

Course recommended for beginner and intermediate beekeepers.

Topics include:

  • Honeybee biology and behavior

  • Necessary equipment for sustainable beekeeping

  • Management techniques for establishing a successful apiary

- ONLY OFFERED AS A ZOOM CLASS -

CLASS DATES:
5 days: Thursdays Jan 9, 16, 23, 30 & Feb 6, 2025

CLASS MEETING TIMES:
ZOOM class meets 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm (Eastern US Time Zone)

CLASS LOCATION:
Held online: - ZOOM ONLY CLASS -

COST: 5 Day Class - $80.00

 

the next step FOR OVERWINTERED HIVES

Bee School Course 2:
COMING OUT OF WINTER - SPRING MANAGEMENT & MECHANICS

The arrival of spring is a harbinger of excitement for the upcoming bee season but is also a critical time for bee survival and preparation for the forthcoming honey flow. This course details the numerous steps in preparing the hive for the upcoming season including applied areas in:

  • Feeding

  • Re-Queening

  • Equalizing Hives

  • Swarm Prevention

  • Disease and Mite Control

- ON-SITE CLASS -

CLASS DATES:
1 day: Saturday March 29, 2025

CLASS MEETING TIMES:
Live class meets 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Bee veils are required as students will be opening hives for inspection and discussion.

CLASS LOCATION:
Held onsite at: Black Birch Farm Apiaries,
105 Georgetown Road, West Newbury, MA, 01985

COST: 1 Day Class - $50.00

 
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Bee School Course 3:
STARTING YOUR HIVE - INSTALLING PACKAGES AND NUCs

This mini course shows you how to install packages and NUCS and how to set the hive up for a successful installation.

Topics include:

  • Feeding methods

  • Queen Finding

  • Determining status of newly installed packages and NUCS

  • Countermeasures to installation problems.

- ON-SITE CLASS -

CLASS DATES:
1 day: Saturday, April 12, 2025

CLASS MEETING TIMES:
Live class meets 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Bee veils are required as students will be opening hives for inspection and discussion.

CLASS LOCATION:
Held onsite at: Black Birch Farm Apiaries, 105 Georgetown Road, West Newbury, MA, 01985

COST: 1 Day Class - $50

 
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Bee School Course 4:
IDENTIFYING AND DEALING WITH HONEY BEE DISEASES & PESTS

The capacity to delineate and identify both diseases and pests of the hive and apiary are essential for sustainable beekeeping. Of critical importance is the ability to quickly initiate countermeasures to minimize the damage that pests and disease create. Unfortunately, there are a myriad of practices and medications that confuse and often delay the necessary treatments in a timely manner.

In this course the following applied subject areas will be detailed:

  • Identifying Diseases and Pests of the Hive and Apiary

  • Selecting The Proper Biologic, Physical, and Medication Treatment Protocols

  • Determining Applied Treatment Efficacy

  • Integrated Pest Management Applications

  • Biological and Physical Solutions to Apiary Pests

- ON-SITE CLASS -

CLASS DATES:
1 day: Saturday April 26, 2025

CLASS MEETING TIMES:
Live class meets 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Bee veils are required as students will be opening hives for inspection and discussion.

CLASS LOCATION:
Held onsite at: Black Birch Farm Apiaries, 105 Georgetown Road, West Newbury, MA, 01985

COST: 1Day Class - $50

 

Bee School Course 5:
SWARM PREVENTION, TECHNIQUES & CATCHING SWARMS

The ability to manage an Apiary to prevent swarming is essential to obtaining a sufficient honey crop. However, swarming can never be totally eradicated and the facility to both physically capture swarms or bait them into a hive allows beekeepers to economically increase apiary size.

In this course the following applied subject areas will be detailed:

  • Biological and Physical Methods of Swarm Prevention

  • Swarm Capturing Tools, Methods, and Techniques

  • Bait Hive Types and Deployment

  • Transporting Captured Swarms

  • Protocols for Integrating a Captured Swarm Into an Apiary

- ON-SITE CLASS -

CLASS DATES:
1 day: Saturday, May 10, 2025

CLASS MEETING TIMES:
Live class meets 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Bee veils are required as students will be opening hives for inspection and discussion.

CLASS LOCATION:
Held onsite at: Black Birch Farm Apiaries, 105 Georgetown Road, West Newbury, MA, 01985

COST: 1 Day Class - $50

 

Bee School Course 6:
INCREASING YOUR STOCK - MAKING SPLITS AND NUCS

The ability to make splits and NUCS allows beekeepers to increase their hive numbers and/or have honey bees available to increase weak hive populations or replace dead hives. The following topics are addressed

  • The biology of making splits

  • Necessary equipment for making splits

  • Physical hive manipulation for splits

  • Post-Split management and maintenance

  • NUC size options

  • NUC Location

  • NUC ventilation, robbing protection, and swarm prevention

  • Installing NUCs

  • Over-Wintering NUCs

- ON-SITE CLASS -

CLASS DATES:
1 day: Saturday, May 24, 2025

CLASS MEETING TIMES:
Live class meets 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Bee veils are required as students will be opening hives for inspection and discussion.

CLASS LOCATION:
Held onsite at: Black Birch Farm Apiaries, 105 Georgetown Road, West Newbury, MA, 01985

COST: 1 Day Class - $50

 

Bee School Course 7:
THE SUSTAINABLE APIARY: SUMMER MANAGEMENT & MECHANICS

Course details summer management practices for the hive.

Topic Include:

  • Swarming

  • Hive Manipulation

  • Identification and interdiction of honey bee diseases and pests

  • Supering

- ON-SITE CLASS -

CLASS DATES:
1 days: Saturday, June 7, 2025

CLASS MEETING TIMES:
Live class meets 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Bee veils are required as students will be opening hives for inspection and discussion.

CLASS LOCATION:
Held onsite at: Black Birch Farm Apiaries, 105 Georgetown Road, West Newbury, MA, 01985

COST: 1 Day Class - $50

 

Bee School Course 8:
THE KEY TO SUSTAINABLE BEEKEEPING: FALL & WINTER MANAGEMENT & MECHANICS

Course details the necessary fall hive inspection, evaluation, and management including:

  • Feeding

  • Requeening

  • Winter hive preparations

  • Winter feeding

  • Harvesting The Honey Crop

- ON-SITE CLASS -

CLASS DATES:
1 day: Saturday, August 23, 2025

CLASS MEETING TIMES:
Live class meets 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Bee veils are required as students will be opening hives for inspection and discussion.

CLASS LOCATION:
Held onsite at: Black Birch Farm Apiaries, 105 Georgetown Road, West Newbury, MA, 01985

COST: 1 Day Class - $50