January 2017 BeeGroup Newsletter

Dear reader,

Another year has arrived and hopefully you (and your bees) are keeping warm and having plenty of time to plan and prepare for this upcoming beekeeping season. It will not be long until we see that first pollen being brought in. The bees have already started raising brood in preparation for the spring, so this means their honey consumption has increased dramatically as they need to keep the brood warm. Now is a good time to get out there and check to make sure they have enough food.

Please note: There is no meeting this month due to the Intro to Beekeeping course that was held this weekend. Our next meeting will be February 20th.

If you have any topics, ideas, or questions, feel free to contact us at BeeGroup@HVHives.com.

Please whitelist our email address to ensure proper mail delivery from Hudson Valley Hives.

BeeGroup format change

2017 will bring change to the BeeGroup monthly meetings. The group was started out of interest, from the attendees of the "Intro to Beekeeping" class, to continue the discussions on a regular basis. Although I have a very busy life with many irons in the fire, I was happy continue the discussions if there was enough interest and help. Too be honest, I am quite astonished with the attendance we have, I never expected it to be so well attended.

The original intent of the meeting is to provide insight and support for new beekeepers on questions/issues they are experiencing as the beekeeping season progresses. This is accomplished through the open discussion portion of our meeting.

Going forward, the meetings will focus around this open discussion model. I will not be preparing a topic for discussion, but will rely on members to identify the topics for discussions with their questions or sharing their experiences. If someone would like to present or lead a topic at anytime please don't hesitate to contact me and we will make it happen.

Likewise, I'm not sure the monthly newsletter will continue to provide the depth of information it has previously provided. Unfortunately I do not have the time to dedicate to such an effort. If anyone has things they would like to share in a newsletter please pass it on and I will do my best to get it in.

I'm looking forward to another great beekeeping season in 2017 and truly believe the sharing of experiences/knowledge among fellow beekeepers is the key to establishing sustainable beekeeping in the Hudson Valley. Hopefully you feel the same and will continue to join our monthly discussions.

Beekeep On!

Rob..

a title or text.

Intro to Beekeeping Class

We had 26 people attend this years "Intro to Beekeeping" class at the Olive Library. This was the first time the new revised class was taught. The original class spanned two days and covered a lot of beekeeping options that aren't particularly suited for our climate. It had become apparent that the two day class was just too much information for folks with no beekeeping experience and became overwhelming. The new revised class focuses on the best approaches to get started successfully with the goal of becoming self sufficient.

We had about an even split of novice beekeepers, returning after their first year to pick up more knowledge, and first time beekeepers interested in becoming a beekeeper.

If you attend this years class, first of all we welcome you to the BeeGroup and would appreciate it if you would be so kind to take a few minutes to provide feedback on the course in the comments HERE.

I will be doing this course two more times in February at the Southeastern Beekeepers Club in Middletown and at the Modena Library. Feel free to email me at beegroup@hvhives.com if you would like more details.

Full Season Hands-on Beekeeping Course

The Bee Improvement team is offering a hands-on beekeeping course that covers an entire season. This course is modeled from the very successful BIBBA training program in the UK.

This course will meet every two weeks from April to August in an education bee yard and will provide hands-on training and mentoring in sustainable beekeeping methodologies for our local environment. This class is ideal for first time beekeepers and 1st/2nd year novice beekeepers. This is the perfect opportunity for new beekeepers to get hands on exposure to working with bees before getting their own bees.

Details can be found at the Bee Improvement website.

Hudson Valley Hives is a beekeeping group that meets at the Olive Free Library on a monthly basis and discuss all things beekeeping. The meeting is driven by members questions and sharing experiences with the goal of spreading timely knowledge among fellow beekeepers. It is very informal and we welcome anyone interested to participate. If you are just thinking about getting started in beekeeping, a new beekeeper, or a seasoned beekeeper, you will benefit from the group discussions. There is no membership fee. The Olive Free Library graciously provides a meeting place for our group and we encourage you to make a donation to the library if you find the BeeGroup helpful.

• What: Hudson Valley Hives BeeGroup

• Where: Olive Free Library, West Shokan

• When: 3rd Monday of the Month - 6:30PM

Have family or friends that might be interested in beekeeping? Forward this email so they can Subscribe to our Mail List.

You have received this e-mail because you attended a beekeeping class at the Olive Library in the past or have signed up for our mailing list. If you do not wish to receive future correspondence, you may unsubscribe using the link below.