online course 22. and 23. April 2023
Erkki has held courses on Apicentric Beekeeping every spring since 2016. The courses have been in Finnish apart from a 2019 course in English. First the courses were in Karjalohja but since Covid19 (2020) they have been online, which has proved to be a good solution because people from all over the country have been able to participate. In the earlier courses the focus was clearly on beekeeping with top bar hives but as my thoughts have evolved the course content has gone more towards a holistic view of honeybees, beekeeping in permaculture, darwinian beekeeping in different hives and (re)wilding honeybees. The main take-away of the course should be to direct you to a holistic view of honeybees and beekeeping which is not offered in mainstream beekeeping courses. After the course you will understand that there is not only one way to be with bees and that beekeeping is not per se natural. I believe the course will benefit both total newbies to beekeeping as well as more experienced beekeepers. I am a learner myself, open to discussions and I don’t have all the answers.
At Iso-orvokkiniitty we have had bees since 2014 in standard wooden Farrar hives (2/3 Langstroth), top bar hives (TBH), Warré hives, Biboet type ”log hives” and log hives made of tree trunks (since 2022) – all together less than 10 populated hives overwintering at the moment. I haven’t treated my bees for varroa since 2019. I have switched to ”Darwinian beekeeping” methods since 2021-22 in all hive types. The purpose of the log hives is to experiment with (re)wilding honeybees. I am also gradually trying to switch to Nordic Dark bees in order to find genetics that could cope with (re)wilding in the Finnish climate. In all this there is a lot to discuss and learn even though I don’t have ready recipes. You will go home with more questions than you had before the course.
The course will include biology of bees as a superorganism, different thoughts about natural, organic and beecentric beekeeping, basics of beekeeping and practical guidelines on keeping bees in topbar hives and discussions about other hive types. The first day we will attempt to understand bees and in the 2nd day we will be more practical.
At Iso-orvokkiniitty we strive to act according to permaculture principles. For us beekeeping is not just a box to tick in the design – beekeeping and the honeybees should be managed according to permaculture principles.
You are welcome to the course whether you are absolute novice to beekeeping or an experienced beekeeper looking for some new inspiration and thoughts. 2 half-days will not make anyone into a beekeeper.
Place: Online (Zoom)
Time: 22. and 23.4.2023
Both days: 9.00 – 14.00 Finnish time (8.00 – 13.00 CET)
PROGRAM:
22.4.2023:
9.00 Wellcome, Check-in round
9.30 – 14.00 Understanding honeybees
23.4.2023
9.00 – 12.00 Apicentric beekeeping, Beekeeping with different hives etc
12.00 – 14.00 Caring for honeybees, (re)wilding & Discussion and Check-out
Register here by buying the course: https://holvi.com/shop/iso-orvokkiniitty/
For more information contact: Erkki Pöytäniemi
erkki (ät) iso-orvokkiniitty.fi
tel: 050 5505225
