Date: Saturday, July 23, 2011

Time: 9:30am-12:30pm

Location: Marin Art & Garden Center

Cost: $25 per person

Instructor: Mea Draper from Draper Farms & Bonnie Bollengier

Bee-Keeping for Beginners  

Pre-registration required by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Are you interested in keeping bees?  Now's the time to start your adventure!! 

Honeybees are an integral part of both local and global food systems. In fact the pollination services they provide contribute to one out of every three bites of food that we eat. Recent media coverage of such honeybee related issues as colony collapse disorder have resulted in increased public interest regarding honeybees. Many individuals and families in Marin are interested in keeping a few hives of bees in their backyard but don’t know where to start. If you would like to learn more about honeybees and possibly start keeping bees yourself these classes are for you. 

This workshop is designed for those with little to no knowledge or experience with honeybees. We’ll offer the participant a basic understanding of the honeybee hive. Topics will include:  

• Keeping bees using natural methods
• Basic bee biology & hive structure
• Pests and diseases of the bees
• Cost and time required to get started in beekeeping

Mea McNeil is a Master Beekeeper and journalist, writing regular features for The American Bee Journal. She and her husband have been keeping bees for 25 years -- pollinators for their small San Anselmo farm, an organic CSA.

Bonnie Bollengier is a beekeeping expert who teaches beekeeping at the Strybing Arboretum. She and Mea McNeil are organizers of both the Marin survivor stock project and the Pollen Project. The Project will resistant bees to be kept without chemicals,  and measures pesticides in bee pollen.