Beekeeping For Beginners

Honeybees are beneficial to agricultural pollination and food production processes. Beekeeping at home is a great way to learn about these fascinating insects while supporting their pollination work

This five-session series provides an overview of backyard beekeeping and will cover everything you need to get started for this fascinating and productive hobby. Topics include a brief history of beekeeping, bee biology, basics of beekeeping, locating hives, acquiring bees, and beekeeping resources. We will cover all aspects of starting hives and hive management. Whether you are just interested in knowing more about bees or you'd like to harvest your own honey by the fall, this is the class for you.

Instructor Mel Gadd has been an active beekeeper for over 19 years. He's a member and past board member of the Essex County Beekeepers Association. Mel teaches about natural approaches to beekeeping. Mel was also named Massachusetts Beekeeper of the year in 2017 by the Massachusetts Beekeeping Association.