The Dunedin Beekeepers club offers an introductory course for those new to beekeeping. The course consists of two 4 hour sessions. The first session for 2024 is theory on honey bees and beekeeping held at the Southern Youth Development, 45 Maori Road, Dunedin in September. The second is a practical demonstration, held at Murray Rixon’s apiary on the Taieri, where participants are able to view inside a hive and learn the basics of how to care for a colony. This is to be held in October with the reserve days the following weekend if the weather is unsuitable. The club has a limited number of bee suits that may be borrowed for the practical session. For further details and application form contact Brian Ellis at [email protected] or 027 460 5985

Otago Polytechnic Courses

New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Level 3)
Graduates of this programme will be able to work as an assistant beekeeper for commercial operators, as an independent beekeeper with a small number of beehives or even develop their own business. Alternatively, they will be able to pathway into Level 4 Apiculture training (either as a Leading Hand or specialising in queen bee rearing).

New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Level 4)
This programme will enable graduates to operate as a Leading Hand in a commercial operation or to run their own commercial operation.

New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Queen Bee Rearing)
(Level 4)
This programme will enable graduates to rear queen bees for a commercial operation or to operate their own queen-rearing operation. Graduates will be able to work independently and could supervise others.

For further information see www.op.ac.nz.

Fraser Bees – Beekeeping for Beginners

Fraser Bees offers a beginners beekeeping course several times each year. Fraser Bees is owned and run by Chris Fraser who has been keeping bees for the last five years and has 100 hives located south of Dunedin. Chris is also a bee breeder with farming and tertiary teaching experience. The course is run in small groups over 10 sessions and includes hands on work with their hives. The course is designed specifically for non-commercial beekeepers. The goal of the course is to learn the basic skills needed to keep hives healthy, productive and survive the winter.

For more information visit their Facebook page or YouTube channel – both are called Fraser Bees. Chris can be contacted at 027 833 1930.