LEWIS COUNTY BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION                                                          

LCBA's next Beginning Beekeeping Course will be offered in January - February, 2020. 

Dates & times: Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon, Jan. 11, 18, 25, Feb. 1, 8, 15

Place: Centralia College, Washington Hall 103, 701 W. Walnut, Centralia WA 98531

This class is offered through Centralia College's Continuing Education Program.

Below are details about our beginner's curriculum; for the class brochure, click here.

"Your First Year of Beekeeping"

6 3-hour class meetings via the Centralia College  Continuing Education Program

For beginners: learn to keep bees successfully in southwest Washington’s unique conditions.  Topics: basic bee biology/behavior, equipment & apiary set-up, seasonal management, identifying & managing parasites & diseases,  honey harvesting, over-wintering, & more.  Students completing the course earn LCBA’s  diploma.

Course Materials:   

Lewis County Beekeepers’ Association’s manual lays out basics for beginners; LCBA’s PowerPoints & demonstration materials supplement manual with visuals.  In-class Q&A welcome; children welcome, too.

Course Instructors:  

LCBA board members with many years of beekeeping experience: Education Coordinator Peter Glover, Secretary Susanne Weil, Founder/Vice-President Bob Harris, & guest instructors from the LCBA  Board.

Post-Course Support:  

LCBA’s free Mentor Workshops give hands-on guidance in working bees.  Students who join LCBA are eligible for discounts on spring package / nuc bee orders & free consultations with an individual “bee mentor.” 

How to Register: 

Registration costs $50 and goes through Centralia College by phone, mail, or in person - sorry, no online registration. Registration starts December 2018. Here's how it works:

First, get a registration form at

http://www.centralia.edu/academics/cont-ed/

Course Code:  available November 2017

Register & Pay by Phone w/Credit Card

Call (360) 623-8940, ext. 427  or  ext. 623

Or Register In Person:

Enrollment Services, TransAlta Commons, 2nd Floor, 600 W. Centralia College Boulevard,  Centralia WA

Questions? Email secretary@lcba.community or call 360 880 8130.



 

 LCBA is also on Facebook ~ just put "Lewis County Beekeepers" in your FB browser to find our page with upcoming LCBA events, bee news stories, videos, recipes, & more!



Above, LCBA Beginning Beekeeping Class students pulling frames and tasting honey during a break; below, Rick Battin, LCBA's Treasurer & one of our instructors, guides students in finding Varroa mites on a sticky board:

Below, LCBA follows up the class with hands-on workshops to support new beekeepers:

Above, a hive inspection workshop (for photo gallery, click here).

For a PDF of LCBA's slideshow on Getting Started in Beekeeping, click here.  (FYI: the slideshow is mainly visual & illustrates our "Getting Started" overviews: see our Upcoming Events page for our next  overview.

To read about bees & beekeeping, click here for "Beekeeping Basics," a valuable guide by the Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research & Extension Consortium (MAAREC).

Arena Flowers' "Ultimate Guide to Beekeeping" gives a helpful overview of beekeeping history, how to prepare to keep bees, & some management basics.

 Below, children are welcome at LCBA workshops!