Over a hundred people were busy bees Saturday morning. They hit the books hard during Louisville Bee School.
“We need to save the bees,” said Joel Gonia from HoneyBear Farms KY.
Gonia said that the world lost half of its bee population between 2008 and 2010. This is bad news for the world’s food supply.
“If we lose our bees, we lose the world’s best pollinators,” said Gonia. “Then, we start to lose our food crops.”
The Louisville Bee School hoped to change that. They offered a wide range of courses that included introductory and advanced topics of beekeeping.
“This is just one way to help those become more educated about beekeeping,” said Gonia.
It was a full day of instruction and hands-on demonstration at Cedar Ridge Camp & Retreat Center:
- Apiary set up, pollinator plant and flower planting
- Catching Swarms
- Installation of Nucs and packages
- Making Splits
- Varroa mite, pests and disease treatment.
- KSBA and KY Certified Honey program
- Beekeeping Mentoring Programs
- Queen Rearing
Gonia said the success of Saturday’s bee school might prompt another to be held in the fall.
“If you help save the bees, then you’re helping to save the food source,” he said.