Practical Hands-on Beekeeping 101 2026

101 Practical Beekeeping

Days: Saturday

Dates: March 7, 14, 21, 28, April 11

Time: 10:am - 1:pm

Hours: 15

Location: 1400 Quincy St. NE, Washington DC

Prerequisite: Completed short course or equivalent

Type: Hands-on & Classroom

Course Description:

This is a practical beekeeping course for the beginner and has a prerequisite of completion of a short course or equivalent. Classes consist of classroom sessions and demonstrations with hands-on lessons in the bee yard.

Upon completion of the course, participants will be presented with a certificate.

The course runs for five weeks. Each class is two and a half hours in duration for a total of 12.5 hours of instruction. Participants must attend at least four class sessions to be eligible for the certificate of completion. In addition to in class time participants will be expected to complete four short homework assignments and a comprehensive final exam.

Topics:

• Handling beekeeping equipment: a dry run on moving all the components of the hive around), lighting the smoker and keeping it going
• Handling the hive with live bees and developing observation skills
• Colony dynamics, honing observation skills, record keeping
• The beekeeping year: hands on practice for what to do by season including swarm management, pest and disease management, feeding and getting ready for winter