Beekeeping Workshops

Our Beekeeping Workshops are designed to allow individuals to come and learn management of honey bees in Northern climates from seasoned beekeeping experts. At each session we will be covering specific educational topics important to Northern beekeepers, conducting comprehensive inspections of colonies and making seasonal management decisions to include: Health checks, mite monitoring, mite treatments, queen status, correcting queen issues, food reserve evaluation, feeding, etc. 

Workshop Details & Information:

• $35/per person, per session or $175 for all 6 workshops.
• Workshops are FREE to 2025 Beekeeping Above the 45th Parallel course students and no registration is required. 
• Workshops are FREE to Heroes to Hives students past and present and no registration is required.
• Attendees are advised to bring their own veils and gloves. DO NOT bring hive tools or smokers as these will be supplied. 
• Note that workshops may be cancelled due to weather and notifications to registered students will be sent out at least 24hrs before each workshop if they are cancelled. We will also update this page with any cancellation information and will post through our social media pages.
• All workshops take place at Bee Wise Farms at 10192 State Highway M28, Newberry, MI 49868.

Dates/Times/Topics

May 16, 2025 - 5:30-7:30pm
Topic: Spring Splits and Overwintered Colony Management 
Overwintered colonies must be split in the spring to control colony size to prevent swarming and to expand the size of the apiary, replace losses, or sell nucs. In this workshop you will learn how to make splits from overwintered colonies using simple methods including the walk away split, typical split, and even split, and how to care for colonies in the early part of the Northern beekeeping season.

June 20, 2025 - 5:30-7:30pm
Topic: Hive Inspections and Managing Varroa Effectively
Managing varroa mites is the most important thing a beekeeper can do to ensure productive and healthy colonies. From our experience, when beekeepers start taking varroa management seriously their bees start to survive year to year. In this workshop, we will discuss varroa mite biology, impact of varroa on honey bees, how to monitor varroa using the alcohol wash, how to determine when to treat for mites, miticide options and how to pick the right one, and how to develop a full Integrated Pest Management program for varroa mites. You will receive a 1 hour recorded lecture on varroa mites 1 week before the on-ground training to prepare you for the workshop.

July 18, 2025 - 5:30-7:30pm
Topic: Mid Season Management and Evaluating Resources
In this workshop we will cover the mid season management you should be doing to ensure your bees are healthy during the most productive time of the season (the honey flow). We will cover inspections, mite monitoring methods, action thresholds for mite management mid season, evaluating colony health, swarm control, encouraging wax drawing, and preparing for the honey flow. You will receive a 1 hour lecture on mid-season management 1 week before the on-ground training to prepare you for the workshop.

August 15, 2025 - 5:30-7:30pm
Topic: Honey Harvesting and Processing/Mite Monitoring and Treatments
This workshop is focused on two aspects of August management in Northern climates. We will first start with inspections and mite monitoring as August tends to be our peak month for mites in Northern climates. Then we will move into the honey house to discuss harvesting and processing of honey and wax at a small scale.

September 12, 2025 - 5:30-7:30pm
Topic: Preparing Hives for Northern Winters
In this workshop we will discuss methods we use in the late part of the season to ensure colonies are ready for winter. We will cover late season feeding, evaluating colony strength, combining hives, mite monitoring, late season mite treatments, and queen issues. You will receive a 1 hour lecture on late season management 1 week before the on-ground training to prepare you for the workshop.

October 10, 2025 - 5:30-7:30pm
Topic: Overwintering in Northern Climates
In this workshop we will cover the step by step instructions for preparing your hive for winter. We will discuss consolidation of resources, evaluating honey reserves, winter set up of the hive, final mite treatments, and what steps to take throughout the winter to ensure survival. You will receive a 1 hour lecture on overwintering 1 week before the on-ground training to prepare you for the workshop.