first time giving beekeeping lecture

[derrick1p1]

I will be giving a lecture to adults that are interested in beekeeping.  The curriculumn will be geared towards organic beekeeping methods (no chemical treatments, ect).  I'm sure I will have questions as I develop slides and format the lesson/lecture. (I plan to use visual aids and equipment, pictures as well as plenty of power point slides.

In the meantime, does anyone have any recommendations, lessons in teaching beekeeping and other advice I should consider before I present?

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!  I really hope to help recruit some new beekeepers.

Thanks,
Derrick

[annette]

Please give choices on size of supers. I started out with full deep and then had to change to mediums because I could not lift the deeps.

[derrick1p1]

Thanks Annette.  I was thinking of that too.  I'm in the process of converting to mediums (well not currently, but will resume doing so in the spring).  Thought I'd present this option since I prefer it. 

I'm also going to warn of destroying swarms cells as soon as they are found.  doing this only got me into trouble, lots of trouble, this past spring.

Thanks,
Derrick

[Pond Creek Farm]

Ditto on the swarm cell thing.  I did that and it really set me back.  It took quite some time for me to realize that my hive was queenless.  Then I had to introduced a queen later in the season that I would have preferred.  May have been a good thing for the mite control, but it was not so good for production of excess honey.

[KONASDAD]

Don't presume they know anything. Stick to the basics initially. there is little to no difference between organic beekeeping and those who use chems from the newbies perpective intially. Perhaps a SBB or small cell is the only difference in the begining. Its what you do after you discover issues and how you solve them w/o chems that becomes the issue. Initially, newbies need to understand what the equipment is, how it works and why you use it. "Supering" and Brood boxes" confuse newbies immensely. They dont get that a super is a super because of where you place it and the queen usually wont lay in it, not because it fundamentally different than a brood chamber box
The other huge issues are what evrything looks like./ I cant tell you how many newbies hives i have checked that were queenless and when inspected there was capped brood from side to side, larvae and eggs for example. Which brings me to BEE MATH. BEE MATH. BEE MATH. Gosh, i wish more beeks understood it better. I ask a newbie, " I see eggs, what does that mean?" No answer. I say, The queens been here alive and well w/in last 72 hrs or so." Newbie" Really, how an you tell!???" Capped queen cells, how many days? etc. Bee math is vital to taking the next intellectual jump im knowledge from beginner to more experienced beek and not enough beeks no it at all, let alone reasonably well.

The other huge issue is inspections. How? When? Why cant I move the frames? Will I crush the queen? I have had nine newbies who couldn't move their frames when inspecting. I asked them "Do you take a frame out(making room) before looking at other nine frames? Answer, "You can do That?" Newbies get lost as soon as they enter their own beeyards w/o hand holding. They forget everythiong all at once and get scared. tell them its normal, inspect anyways!!

Just a few thoughts from someone who lectures probably twice a month now.

[tillie]

Good for you, Derrick - where are you talking?  do you know that the Metro group
is having a training of sorts for people interested in giving talks on Oct 19 at 3 at the
Botanical Garden?  Miss seeing you,

Linda T

[derrick1p1]

Thanks you all so much for the advice.  I'm very excited about doing this, but want to not get too deep (pun intended:).

KONASDAD, thanks for the pointers.  I agree, but probably wouldn't have emphasized bee math as strongly.  I've learned this year that not knowing my bee math really hurt me.  I now realize it is key to having an idea of what is happening and what to do (or not to do).

[rast]

 With some years experiance as a former vocational education teacher behind me and haven given many seminars in my field, you will probably have a mixture of beekeeping intelligince. You will not be able to go deep enough for some and will be too deep for others in the time allowed. A person can only absorb and retain x amount in one lesson. I would start with the basics and then go deeper in another seminar. The one that are interested will come back. You do not want to make it sound overly complex, or that no attention to them is needed.
It really is a matter of feeling out the class (ask them) on what they already think they know.