h3. Course Outline

Would you like to harvest your own honey? It’s easy to have a few hives and then let the bees do most of the work for you. Learn everything you need to know about bees, the equipment needed and how much honey you can expect. Find out what other products you can make such as beer, candles, soap and cosmetic creams. Honey tasting and comprehensive notes are provided and places are limited.

Program

• Introduction to the Course
• What is honey?
• History of beekeeping
• Honey flora – the importance of bees
• Legislation – locating the hive
• How to get the bees
• Honey bees – castes, lifecycles, re-queeningSwarming
• Catching a swarm
• Collecting the pollen and nectar
• Bee hive – hive management
• Splitting a hive
• Re-locating a hive
• Harvesting the honey – types of honey
• Honey bee products – honeycomb, beer, etc.
• Australian native bees
• Bee stings
• Bee health
• Harvesting the wax
• Beeswax uses – candles, cosmetics, soap, etc.
• Flow Hive
• Top-bar hive
• Practical demonstration – extracting the honey from the honeycomb
• Course review

h3. About the tutor

Judith Sleijpen graduated from Ryde School of Horticulture with distinction in Urban Horticulture and gained experience in the retail nursery industry for several years. As a Member of the Horticultural Media Association, Judith writes a monthly gardening column for “Peninsula Living” and has also published articles in “Landscape Contractor and Manager”, “Better Homes and Gardens”, ”Gardens and Outdoor Living” and “The Garden Gurus”.Passionate about plants, gardens and bees, she is a Member of the Australian Institute of Horticulture, a former Committee Member of the Sydney Executive Committee of Open Gardens Australia and a former member of the Speakers’ Bureau of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Apart from conducting her garden design and horticultural consultancy business, “Gardens, Balconies and Beyond”, Judith is a tour leader for the David Jones Flower Show and judges garden competitions in Ryde, Camden, Campbelltown, Bayside and Randwick.