As beekeepers, my husband, Sean and I are members of the Hampden County (MA) Beekeepers Association or HCBA. Because we live on the border of CT and MA the HCBA was the closest proximity beekeeping club for us to join. We started beekeeping in 2011 after going to the "bee school" the club teaches every year. Beekeeping is tricky business so having the support of the club and some local beekeeping mentors was EXTREMELY helpful when we first started out. It still is. So if you are thinking about becoming a beekeeper, I highly recommend finding a local club and asking about any classes, lessons or mentoring they may be able to offer. Our club meets monthly, normally at a hall in Chicopee, MA and more recently on Zoom. But there is one thing you cannot get in a classroom and especially not on Zoom... hands on experience! This year the HCBA was able to establish it's first ever dedicated educational beeyard. Here our most experienced members have set up hives to help club members of all beekeeping skill levels. They can show you everything from beginner basics like the difference between a worker bee (female) and a drone (male bee) all the way to more advanced beekeeping techniques like making splits or grafting queens.
I love attending bee club events and chatting with other club members about their beekeeping successes and struggles. I'm so glad we have this beeyard now so we can all learn even more by actually doing! Big thanks to Mark, Nate, Dave and Billy getting this all set up for our club to enjoy! See you all at the picnic!
I love attending bee club events and chatting with other club members about their beekeeping successes and struggles. I'm so glad we have this beeyard now so we can all learn even more by actually doing! Big thanks to Mark, Nate, Dave and Billy getting this all set up for our club to enjoy! See you all at the picnic!
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