The Backed By Bees mentorship program is a one-to-one hands-on training course for beekeepers who have previously taken introductory theory based beekeeping courses.
Over the course of the mentorship, you will have the full attention of Dave - The Beekeeper during the lessons.
The program is designed to help beekeepers build confidence, develop their technical skills and learn the hands-on aspects of beekeeping.
- 4 x 2h (8 hours total) sessions spread out throughout the season
- 1 x 1h (1 hour total) session
A typical program would look like this...
- Scheduled mid-spring (temperature dependant) - Start on the basics: Finding the correct bee location, lighting a smoker, approaching a hive, opening a hive, winter loss assessment and management, spring yard and hive hygiene maintenance etc. (2 hours)
- End of May - Frame manipulation, finding the queen, tackling swarm season, splitting, spring treatment, brood assessment, adding honey supers etc.(2 hours)
- Early fall - Mite assessment and treatment planning, honey harvest, prepping colonies for fall management, 'external' beekeeping, brood management, resources assessments etc. (2 hours)
- Mid to late fall - Mite treatments, AFB treatments, final honey harvest, winter prep, insulation, feeding, combining hives for winter success (2 hours)
- Typically winter - Hive equipment and assembly, legal requirements and beekeeping financials
All work/training will be done on full scale honey bee colonies managed at Backed By Bees main location.
The program totals 9 hours of hands-on work and will take you through an entire year of beekeeping. During the initial discussion, you and Dave will assess and tailor the program to meet your beekeeping needs.
The entirety of the course fee will be due before the initial session. Any time spent beyond the allotted time will be billed out at Dave's consulting rate.
No equipment is necessary as all will be provided for each session.
