What a wonderful feeling to be able to gather again! Thank you to Penny for allowing us to relax and reconnect with GBA members on your gorgeous property, and to everyone who came out to make it happen. Great conversations, amazing honey tasting and a magnificent, delicious feast.
Club Night Oct 2021: Preparing your hives for winter
With October upon us, this month's club meeting included a presentation by our Education Committee to start thinking about preparing our hives for the winter months ahead. Great Q+A session afterwards, as well as a tempting thought to join our potluck later this month! These meetings are open to GBA members and one-time visitors. If … Continue reading Club Night Oct 2021: Preparing your hives for winter
It’s great to be back at the fair – Santa Cruz County Fair 2021
We had a great turnout of volunteers to support the tremendous interest in the Bee Barn - back in-person, after a COVID hiatus year - at the Santa Cruz County Fair. There was especially a lot of interest in spotting the queen (and earning the appropriate sticker!) in the observation hives graciously provided by Sara … Continue reading It’s great to be back at the fair – Santa Cruz County Fair 2021
Club Night Sept 2021: Fall issues in California
In our online education series, our Education Committee experts cover a variety of topics important for the hobby beekeeper. As a hot summer draws to a close, we took a closer look at some of the most pressing issues beekeepers face in this part of California, ranging from drought and threat of fire to predators, … Continue reading Club Night Sept 2021: Fall issues in California
Decoding Monitoring Boards – Christine Kurtz
Christine Kurtz gave a wonderful presentation and helped us understand how to read our hive bottom boards. A seasoned beekeeper with over a decade of experience working with bees, using a sustainable, treatment-free and all-natural management style, Christine is a strong believer in supporting locally adapted stocks of bees. As a long time Sonoma County … Continue reading Decoding Monitoring Boards – Christine Kurtz
Club Night: Mid-year member hive maintenance
In our current online education series, we have covered a series of topics important for the hobby beekeeper. Our subject this month continues the theme of mid-year hive maintenance and follows on the heels of our two-part class. This evening, our Education Committee, led by Master Beekeepers, Sara Cutrignelli and Arthur Kubogamell, share the inspection … Continue reading Club Night: Mid-year member hive maintenance
Help Your Hives Thrive and Grow (2021)
Held earlier in June 2021, our "Beekeeping Mid-year Maintenance" class continued the recent GBA two-part series to support experienced and brand new beekeepers succeed in our communities. The online portion focused on sharing insights and tips on growing your hive including nutritional requirements and how to protect your bees in our setting. We can't speak … Continue reading Help Your Hives Thrive and Grow (2021)
Queen Banking – Ellen Topizhofer
It was a delight to welcome Ellen Topizhofer all the way from Oregon to our meeting this month. Ellen became interested in honey bees while studying plant genetics and breeding at the University of Minnesota. She then studied honey bee nutrition as part of her MS at Oregon State University. After graduating, she worked with … Continue reading Queen Banking – Ellen Topizhofer
Club Night: Preparing your hive for honey
In our current online education series, we have covered a series of topics important for the hobby beekeeper. This evening, our Education Committee Directors and Master Beekeepers, Sara Cutrignelli and Arthur Kubogamell, feature in a special video presentation created especially for GBA by Jamie Haskell: How do you know when your hive is ready to … Continue reading Club Night: Preparing your hive for honey
What’s in My Pollen – Dr. Kirsten Traynor
We were honoured to have Dr. Kirsten Traynor jump on a middle-of-her-night call with us this month and share her insights. Dr. Traynor investigates honey bee health and how pesticides impact social behavior. She is the Director of the Institute of Bee Research in Celle, Germany. In 2020, she launched a new quarterly magazine 2 … Continue reading What’s in My Pollen – Dr. Kirsten Traynor