Beekeeping Clubs

• #1- Experienced Leaders who are open minded.

• #2- Club support for new beekeepers.

• #3- A club that Educates the Community.

• #4- Members who know the area (most important)!!

Now let’s get into the core of each point! The world of beekeeping is waiting for you!

Point #1- Experienced Leaders who are open minded.

When I first moved from Florida to Georgia I knew that I needed to learn what plants supported the nectar flows and when they bloomed. I joined just long enough to learn those things but that was about all I learned other than that this club was the blind leading the blind. They unfortunately didn’t have the experience needed to propel them all forward.

Needless to say that I was not in that club for very long and it took quite some years before I joined another one. Despite this new club I belong to going through a lot of member changes and goal changes, one thing that they place of utmost importance is having experienced leaders and who are open-minded for advancement in the realm of beekeeping.

The reason that a club must have experienced leadership is because there needs to be a tiered structure of experience levels so that someone is always teaching and someone is always learning. These things are important if the members want to advance their experience levels.

Having open minds is important to try new things. Have you ever known anyone who was so set in their ways that they were not willing to try anything new? Even if the new way was easier and better? It’s frustrating dealing with that kind of personality at times.

Point #2- Club support for New Beekeepers.

This point falls directly under having experienced leadership but also experienced members that can mentor the new guys and gals.

Having a mentor that you can call, text or bug daily is of vital importance to your growth as a beekeeper. It’s the faster track to failing and succeeding fastlier than you would have otherwise.

Ideally this person should be willing and able to teach, guide and allow the apprentice (you) to do hands-on work in in the apiary; whether it’s theirs, yours or the club’s apiary.

Point #3- The Club should educate the community.

Each club usually has bylaws or something similar stating what their main drive and purpose is. Mine is to educate the community on the importance of honey bees and their role in our culture and society.

Whatever it is, education should be a primary focus in order to do two things:

• Create awareness in the community and potentially an interest in beekeeping while possibly founding mutual friendships and sponsors in the community that support one another. For example, we have a local shed company donating a bee shed for storing our equipment and gear on-site at our club apiary.

• To foster an interest in beekeeping to continue brining in fresh new members so that the club doesn’t get stale, old and musty.

Point #4- Members who know the area (most important)!!

One of the most important points in my opinion is having leaders, mentors, members in the club who know WHAT blooms and WHEN it blooms.

This is vital in order to properly and successfully keep bees in your area. Imagine not knowing this: you will never be ready for the nectar flow, when to harvest, when to feed and when to not feed. You’ll pretty much be playing a guessing game and not a fun one.

So find a club if you haven’t already. Ask all the questions. Become a prominent member yourself that others can come to. Everyone has to start somewhere and it’s rarely at the top!

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom 😉. I want to hear from you!