Education
The Illawarra Beekeepers works in our community to educate and inform individuals and community groups.
We conduct several courses each year targeting from beginners to advanced beekeepers. These courses are always in high demand with one on one tuition and theory in our apiary.
Why Keep Bees
Bees are under threat worldwide and Australia as an island is currently protected from many of the issues affecting bees world wide.
Learn Beekeeping
Do you want to get away from mass produced supermarket honey and learn how you can harvest honey from your backyard? One hive will produce more honey than you will need for the year so you will find you can either give away or sell the rest. Like most things there is a right and wrong way to keep bees.
Course Bookings
We hold at least 4 courses beekeeping per year. To find out what courses are available, select the more info button below. Remember spots are very limited and they sell out fast so book ASAP to avoid disappointment!
Join the BEE Course Waiting List
Our bee courses often sell out quickly. But you can be the first to be notified when new courses are announced if you join the waiting list. Just drop a note your name and details to our education team and you will join the front of the queue. We will then notify you as soon as dates are announced. Don’t miss out.
Latest Community Activity
2019 Open Day Report from our Branch President Penny
Our branch President, Penny writes about the success of the 2019 open day.
2019 Open Day Sat 4 May Just a Few Days to Go
With just a few days to go until our open day, we’re getting plenty of interest. Thanks to our hard-working committee, members, social pages and the local newspaper we have received a lot of enquiries over the past few days so it looks like it will be popular. Remember gates open 9am to 3pm
Catching Small Hive Beetle: How to prepare and deploy lantern traps
A Queensland-based research team led by Dr. Diana Leemon has completed a three-year research project as part of the AgriFutures™ Honey Bee and Pollination Program, investigating the development of an external attractant trap for SHB in an attempt to reduce numbers affecting hives.
January 2019 Field Day: A Beehive Inspection Checklist
This will be the first meeting of 2019. Lamorna and other experienced beekeepers will share and demonstrate beekeeping techniques.
on average our 400 gram jar of honey needs 1050 honey bees to travel close to 180,000 kilometres visiting over 4.1 million flowers!
the average bee works it’s whole life to make
just half a teaspoon of honey
Australia is the only continent free of the
parasitic verroa mite
Our members include beekeepers with years of experience willing to share their knowledge of tried and true methods in beekeeping.
We hold 2 meetings for most months of the year. This gives our members the opportunity to learn from other beekeepers, ask questions, participate in workshops and receive all the support needed to get you on the right track in beekeeping.
As a beekeeper, one of the many benefits in joining the a branch of the ABA is insurance cover and protection. The insurance offered to ABA members is not compulsory but highly recommended and covers a great deal and may be difficult to get without the strength of the ABA as a collective