Annual Beginning Beekeeping Course Information

Submitted by dcbees on Tue, 12/17/2019 - 22:47

Registration for the 2024 UDC/DC Beekeepers Alliance Beginning Beekeeping Course takes place in the late Fall. Please watch here for any changes or updates to our class schedule and registration process.

About our class

Potential students must complete a free, 90-minute online orientation session title "Is Beekeeping Right for Me?" before the registration period opens in order to receive registration details. Members of the DC Beekeepers Alliance receive priority access to class seats: remaining seats will be offered around December 1 to those who sign up for notification (form below). Student seats are not reserved until registration and payment are complete. 

The DCBA 2024 Class will begin on a weekday evening in January and continue for 8 weekly sessions to March. Class meets for 2 hours. Should pandemic conditions permit, there will be optional face to face workshops, including a "Build Day" to teach the construction of hives and hive components (all tools provided!). 

Course Description:  

UDC CAUSES/Extension and the DC Beekeepers Alliance offer an annual for-fee, non-credit bearing course that provides resources and knowledge needed to successfully and responsibly keep bees in the District of Columbia. Those who complete all sessions receive a Certificate of Completion, introduction to a mentor, and connections to suppliers of equipment and bees.

Course meetings begin in January and run through mid-March (8 total, 16 hours of instruction). The course fee covers all lectures, two text books, online resources and potential hands on sessions. Text books will be distributed at or before the first session.

Class sizes are limited by classroom space and mentor availability, usually 60 students per year.

The class is taught by active, volunteer beekeepers, including local Master Beekeepers and experienced DC Beekeepers. Additional DC beekeepers assist at each session.

Please note: demand for urban beekeeping classes wildly outstrips supply: there are more than 700 households on the notification list and we urge you to explore all options available for beekeeping education. 

We are not the only local source for quality beekeeper education! Other area beekeeping associations that also offer courses include:

There are more options via local beekeeping businesses and universities: to learn more, we suggest that you join our Facebook or Google Group. Both of these are private and your request to join must be approved.

 

The 2024 Annual Course and the free "Is Beekeeping For Me" seminar are not yet open for registration. For Notification (NOT Priority Access) When 2024 Course Registration Opens: