Beekeeping workshop set for Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio — Ohio State University Extension and the Tri-County Beekeepers Association of Northeastern Ohio will hold the 33rd annual Spring Beekeeping Workshop the evening of March 4, and all day March 5 at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center’s (OARDC) Wooster campus.

The largest one-day beekeeping workshop in the United States (more than 900 people attended in 2010), this year’s event will have as its theme “Honey Bees: Back from the Brink.”

All events will take place at Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster.

Schedule

Friday evening’s program begins at 7 p.m. and includes two talks: “Bee Biology for the Backyard Beekeeper,” Mark Headings, associate professor, Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute; and “Assembling Bee Equipment,” John George, chairman of the Central Ohio Beekeepers Association’s (COBA) Beeyard Management Program.

Also, Ohio State’s Beekeeping Museum (located in OARDC’s old Administration Building) will be open for visits before the presentations.

The Saturday program (9 a.m.-4:45 p.m.) will begin with a keynote address, ”The Natural Bee Nest: Their Own Design,” by James E. Tew, OSU Extension state apiculture specialist.

Breakout sessions will follow, including ”Winter Kills: How to Start Over,” ”Beehive Chemistry,” “City Beekeeping Photography,” “Making Soap with Honey,” ”Practical Beekeeping for Women,” and a basic beekeeping program for beginners.

There will also be a baking contest, door prizes, vendor displays, and tours of the Bee Museum and the bee equipment hands-on/demo room. A registration packet is available at http://go.osu.edu/Bvj.

h3>Cost<

Pre-registration fee is $35 per adult over 17; walk-in registration is $45; Tri-County Beekeepers Association members pay $30 for pre-registration; and youth, 17 and under, pay $5. Vendor registration is $75 per table and includes one person’s registration.

A hot turkey lunch with mashed potatoes, vegetable and homemade pie or a boxed lunch will be offered for an additional charge with pre-registration only.

For more information, contact Sherry Ferrell at 330-263-3684 or ferrell.6@osu.edu.