INTRODUCTION TO BEEKEEPING & PLANTING FOR BEES,

with CAROL DOWNER

**UPDATE - DUE TO ALERT LEVEL 4 RESTRICTIONS, THIS IS NOW A VIRTUAL EVENT HOSTED VIA ZOOM**

Sunday 12 September - 10:30am to 12:00pm (1.5 hours)

Have you ever thought about working with bees? Are you curious about what it means to keep bees or what other ways there are to support these precious pollinators? This introduction to beekeeping is a crash course designed to give you everything you need to understand the trade and connect with the tools to transform your relationship with bees or move forward with your project.

Join Kelmarna's own veteran beekeeper Carol Downer, of Auckland Beekeepers Club, as she takes you through the A-Z of keeping and caring for bees. Learn the fundamentals and come away with an understanding of plants to look out for and cultivate to help support a bee-friendly environment.

This comprehensive presentation and discussion is perfect for anyone from the causally curious to the keenly enthusiastic to cover all of their bases, learn heaps, and ask questions of an expert. And for the more ambitious, this is an excellent session to prime for more intensive beekeeping training, the resources and opportunities for which Carol can help connect you with.

What you'll cover:

History of beekeeping
Biology of honeybees
Bee requirements & providing for bees
Starting out & obtaining bees
Setting expectations & overview of investments (time/money)
Equipment & beekeeper considerations
Sighting hives (where to setup)
Hive products (like honey!)
The law (DECA agreements, local body laws)
Pollination, bee food & what to plant

Suitable for:

Anyone interested in getting to know what working with bees is all about
Anyone keen to learn more about planting to support & provide for bees
Anyone keen to learn more about beekeeping methods & challenges (like organic vs conventional)
Anyone preparing to train more intensively in working with bees
Beginners wanting a quick, comprehensive rundown of how things work, what's possible & what to do next

Carol Downer has been working with bees for more than 20 years, with more than 15 years experience in managing certified organic beekeeping practices, and keeping our very own Kelmarna Gardens hives since 2001. She is a former president of the Auckland Beekeepers Club and a 5-time Apiculture NZ National Honey Show champion.

Carol is adamant about putting the wellbeing of her bees first, and her courses reflect her upfront and honest approach to the good, the bad, and the ugly of keeping bees. "It takes hard work, a lot of time, and dedication."

Carol is also a firm advocate of supporting bees in ways other than beekeeping and is keen to help people recognise that, even if beekeeping is not for them, they can provide for bees by planting and supporting an environment in which bees can thrive.

This event is pay-what-you-want, which means you can choose how much to pay for your ticket, or even attend this seminar for free.

Donations are in support of Kelmarna Gardens, to help us continue to provide organic produce for our community throughout lockdown, as well as the Kelmarna Gardens Education Programme, looking forward to when we can resume collaborations with schools and community organisations to provide nature- and inquiry-based learning for tamariki, and skills-based community-oriented learning opportunities for everyone. Thank you!