Events

Special Events

• Saturday February 17, 2024 – 4pm-5:15pm

Getting Started with Organic Beekeeping

Northeast Organic Farming Association Winter Conference – UVM Burlington, VT – Davis Center

• Thursday March 28. 2024 – 6pm-7:30pm

Bee Venom Therapy– Penobscot Beekeepers Association – Webinar

The honeybee and hive products have historically played a large role in human disease care and prevention. Today science is finally catching up to what naturalists, herbalists, beekeepers, and acupuncturists have known for years. This webinar will focus on the health and healing properties of Honeybee Venom.

• Saturday/Sunday May 18-19, 2024 – 9am-5pm

Organic Beekeeping for Beginners – Metta Earth Institute – 334 S. Geary Rd., Lincoln, VT

Learn about the current state of the honeybee and the beekeeping industry, as well as alternatives to the failing status quo. Designed for the rank beginner, but beneficial for those with several years experience, we cover honey bee biology, resources for sourcing bees, choosing an apiary site, and the tools and equipment you will need. Safe, nontoxic, and effective methods for controlling hive pests and diseases such as mites and foulbrood will also be covered, as well as tips on successfully overwintering hives. Whether you are looking to use fewer chemicals, or are committed to keeping bees organically, this course is for you. The class will be punctuated with visits to the bee yard and the opportunity for hands-on experience, weather permitting. Fee: $135 (includes copy of course text book, Natural Beekeeping or DVD) To Register: Call Ross at 802-349-4279 or email dancingbhoney at gmail dot com

• Sunday, November 24, 2024

Tropilaelaps – Long Island Beekeepers Club

It’s been called Varroa on steroids – the Tropilaelaps mite is deadly to European honey bees and we need to be prepared should it ever come to our shores. Ross Conrad will review Tropilaelaps, its history, geographical footprint, biology, and ideas on some of the best ways to protect your colonies should this hyper-destructive mite ever take up residence in your hives.

Presentation Topics

Here is a list of topics Ross can present to your group.

Keeping Bees Healthy: Naturally – Ross Conrad has been keeping bees for over 30 years using natural and organic methods of honey bee management. His presentation will explore ways beekeepers can work with nature and the honey bee’s natural instincts to maintain healthy, vibrant hives rather than try to force nature to conform with antibiotics, toxic synthetic pesticides, genetically engineered bees, honey bee vaccines, or artificial diets composed primarily of sugar syrup and protein patties. Ross will cover proven natural methods for controlling varroa mites, foulbrood, nosema, CCD, wax moths, small hive beetles, honey bee viruses, raising nucleus colonies, and the critical components of successfully overwintering hives in a northern climate.

Colony Collapse Disorder and Organic Solutions:  The current state of bees and beekeeping and every day solutions for Beekeepers and the public…pesticides, proper nutrition, beneficial bacteria and antibiotics, organic-vs-non-organic methods of controlling diseases and pests, climate change and pollution, better stewardship or Earth.

Organic Varroa Control: Varroa identification, monitoring, and control techniques including sugar dusting, essential oils, organic acids, herbs, screened bottom boards, genetic tolerance, breaking up the brood cycle, regular replacement of old comb, trapping varroa/culling drone brood, small cell comb.

Controlling Pests (Other Than Varroa) Naturally: (bears, skunks, mice, ants, wax moths, small hive beetles, American foul brood, European foul brood, nosema, chalk brood, chill brood). 

Getting Stared With Organic Beekeeping:
This workshop provides and introduction for folks interested in small scale and backyard beekeeping. The workshop will present a balanced view of natural and organic beekeeping topics and practices including: location and equipment requirements; basic honey bee biology; swarming as an expression of the bees vitality; presence and mindfulness in the bee yard; non-toxic pest and disease control; and an appreciation for the role that pollinators and beekeepers play within the Earth’s ecosystem. The program will be punctuated with an open hive demonstration with the opportunity for hands-on experience for students weather permitting.

Urban Beekeeping – Special requirements and management techniques for successful urban beekeeping will be covered including: public relations, site location, equipment needs, and swarm control. 

Overwintering Bees and Spring Management –One of the most challenging aspects of keeping bees in the Northern regions of North America is successfully overwintering the hives so that they are alive in the spring. Ross will discuss the primary issues that need to be addressed to help bees survive the winter and how to steward colonies through the critical time period of late winter and early spring when hives are typically in their most vulnerable condition.  

Beeswax: Production, Collection, Processing, and Uses – Beeswax is a unique substance produced within the body of the honeybee. We will explore the origins of beeswax within the hive, its properties, how the bees use it, and how we can benefit from this incredibly useful substance.  Various methods of collection and processing will be discussed that are especially suited for the small-scale, backyard, or part-time beekeeper.  We will also discuss some of the many uses for beeswax such as for household and everyday use, share beeswax recipes for salves and balms, and explore the many uses of beeswax for art, creativity, and self-expression such as through batik, Ukrainian eggs, encaustics, and lost wax casting for sculpture or jewelry making.

Apitherapy – Healing and Health With Products From the Hive – The honeybee and hive products have historically played a large role in disease care and prevention. Today science is finally catching up to what naturalists, herbalists, beekeepers, and acupuncturists have known for years. Covered are the healing properties of Honey, Pollen, Propolis, Royal Jelly, and Honeybee Venom.

Developing Our Spiritual Connection with the Hive – The honey bee has historically been seen as a spiritual animal by cultures throughout the wold. This workshop will look at the spiritual history of beekeeping and how each of us can foster our own deep awareness and connection with the honey bee as we work with our hives.

Working with Honey Bee Queens –

The queen bee is the only fertile female bee in the hive and can lay 1,500 eggs or more a day during the peak of summer. Ross Conrad from Dancing Bee Gardens will provide beekeepers with information they need to work productively with queens. Workshop participants will learn how to differentiate between healthy queens and unhealthy ones, receive tips on how to introduce queens into a hive, and how to address queen problems that may arise. Note: this workshop is NOT about breeding queens and grafting.

Working With Swarms –

This workshop will explore the swarm…from the swarm as an expression of the hive’s vitality to the intricate details of how the hive decides on a new location to build their home and the process they use to coordinate the movements of 10,000 bees so that they all arrive at the new location at the same time. Based upon research conducted at Cornell University, Ross will share tips on understanding the swarm, how to work with the swarming impulse, and how to capture swarms.

Pesticides and Honey Bee Health – this presentation summarizes the latest scientific research on the effect of pesticides on honey bees, the impacts of EPA regulation, describes how beekeepers, homeowners, farmers and gardeners can assist pollinators with the challenges of pesticides, and shares information about activism that is happening around the country by beekeepers and the general public in response to the plight of honey bees and other insect pollinators.

Tropilaelaps – It’s been called Varroa on steroids – the Tropilaelaps mite is deadly to European honey bees and we need to be prepared should it ever come to our shores. Ross Conrad will review Tropilaelaps, its history, geographical footprint, biology, and ideas on some of the best ways to protect your colonies should this hyper-destructive mite ever take up residence in your hives.

Don’t see a topic your interested in? Contact Ross to see if he can create a custom presentation for your organization.