Interested in learning more about beekeeping? Or maybe you lease long-term through one of the most lenient rental companies in Athens, and they’ve agreed to let you set up a small hive in the yard. Either way, you won’t want to miss out on the series of workshops all about crucial beekeeping skills that are being hosted at Jackie O’s Apiary at Barrel Ridge Farm.
Their upcoming workshop takes place on Wednesday, July 10th, from 5:30-7:30pm and promises to teach you how to get a hive and all the bees in it prepped and ready for winter.
What’s All the Buzz with Beekeeping?
As some may have already guessed at this point, beekeeping as a hobby or pastime has been trending for the last handful of years. Its inception as a once-more popular hobby started back around 2008 when news of Colony Collapse Disorder first broke, reporting that bee populations were quickly dwindling. As the alarm sounded, the hobby began to pick up in popularity, with tons of urban dwellers taking on the responsibility of caring for a hive. Combine that with the increased interest in native plants and pollinator gardens, and the human race has actually managed to come together to try to save the bees. Which is great, because bees are kind of super important in the ecosystem and for sustaining life and all of that.
Beekeeping has burst in popularity to the point where even some restaurants keep local hives for vegetable and herb gardens on their property—having bees around actually keeps the garden’s health in check via pollination. Without pollinators, nearby plants aren’t nearly as healthy and won’t produce as many seeds or flowers as they normally would be able to. Healthier plants produce better crop yields, which means bees do, in fact, play a pivotal role in helping sustain other life by the simple act of pollination.
With the rise in the hobby, it’s easier than ever to get into beekeeping these days with a plethora of resources available online and local beekeepers putting on demonstrations to get others involved in the ever-growing hobby.
What Topics Does the Workshop Go Over?
If you’re looking for an entomological foray of an activity to take part in, the beekeeping workshop hosted at Barrel Ridge Farm is just the thing for your mid-summer evening. While the workshop takes place at Jackie O’s Apiary, the event is put on by Jackie O’s, Central State University, Rural Action, and the Athens County Area Beekeepers Association.
The workshop touches on the various things you can do to improve your hive’s health during the winter—after all, once it dips below a certain temperature, bees slow down and go dormant for the season. Just because they’re dormant, it doesn’t mean there’s not any work or prep to be done. Topics discussed in the event include feeding the bees during the winter and the multitude of tasks you can perform to best prepare your hive or apiary for the winter months in Ohio. The workshop will also touch on the varroa mite, a known parasite that can especially wreak havoc on hives during the winter months, and ways to identify their presence in a hive and the best ways to eradicate them while keeping your bees stable.
Guests are asked to be bring a veil and bee suit if you already own some—if not, a limited number will be available for use on-site. The event is free to those who would like to attend, but guests are still encouraged to register online to give the organizers a headcount estimate.