Class Saturday at Centralia College to Provide Crash Course in Beekeeping, Bee Biology

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Many people in Lewis County are interested in beekeeping, said Lewis County Beekeepers’ Association Secretary Susanne Weil, but a lot of them likely don’t know the first place to start in establishing and maintaining their own apiary.

That’s where an event this Saturday at Centralia College comes in.

Dubbed “Bee Biology 101”, the Beekeepers’ Association holds the event about twice a year to give a two-hour overview of what it takes to be a beekeeper.

“Nothing we can do in two hours is enough to get people started, really, but at least it gives people an idea of what they need to know more about. The whole thing is a preview to our class that we give in January and February,” said Weil.

Running from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in Washington Hall 103, attendees get a crash course on a typical first year of beekeeping. They’ll cover how to get started, where to get equipment and how to keep the bees happy and healthy and producing honey.

Equipment will be there for a sort of show-and-tell segment of the day, and a PowerPoint presentation will walk attendees through the rest of the material.

The topics vary and are essentially the bullet-point version of the full class the association offers in the first couple months of 2019. In that class, each of the topics covered Saturday will be fleshed out and expanded upon.

Typically, said Weil, they’ve drawn in as many as 50 people to the one-day events, which have provided a big bump in attendance to the full class. The class starts Jan. 12, 2019 and runs three Saturdays in January and three in February. Each class is around three hours long.



Saturday’s event is free and requires no prior registration. The full class costs $50, and is run through Centralia College’s Continuing Education.

“There is a lot of interest in beekeeping,” said Weil, who added that, while it varies by location, Lewis County has no regulation or required licensing for beekeeping.

The association is currently running with around 150 members, but maintains a mailing list of over 800. As a member, you get access to experienced beekeepers who can provide mentorship, and workshops at the club apiary.

Weil said she and her husband have been members of the association for about 10 years, when it first started. Since then, the group has grown exponentially, or “swarmed,” Weil said. She and her husband are hobby beekeepers with four colonies.

Currently, the association is accepting applications for their youth scholarship program. Applications must be postmarked by Friday for consideration.

Weil said they’ll typically grant a scholarship to two or three kids between the sixth and 10th grades, but younger students will be considered. Each student who wins gets the equipment they need to start beekeeping, full access to the class and a mentor. In return, they must pass the class, attend association meetings and volunteer at their exhibit at the Southwest Washington Fair.

Go to http://www.lewiscountybeekeepers.org/ for all the necessary forms to apply for the scholarship, and for a wealth of knowledge on all things beekeeping, in general.