Beginning Beekeeping

Cost: $120 (Includes a 1 year BONS membership)
When: Beginning Mid-February

The course typically spans 8 sessions, mostly held once a week. In addition to classroom learning, we offer 1-2 hands-on days to give you practical experience.

Our Beginning Beekeeping class, taught as part of the Virginia Beekeeping Teaching Consortium, runs parallel to similar classes offered across Virginia during this time of year. BONS serves Frederick, Warren, and Clarke counties, Winchester, and the northern parts of Shenandoah and Fauquier counties, but we have members from much of the surrounding areas.

Beekeeping involves a lot of learning, but this course will provide you with all the knowledge you need to successfully navigate your first year. We’ll guide you through understanding how a bee colony functions, choosing the right woodenware and protective gear, building your hives, managing diseases, and caring for your bees to (hopefully) produce honey.

Starting beekeeping does require an investment. Between purchasing hive woodenware, tools, protective gear, and bees for your hives, first-year costs typically start at around $1,000. However, your yearly expenses will be much lower once you’re set up.