2015 MBA Spring Conference Class Descriptions (updated 3/10/15)

Transcription

1 2015 MBA Spring Conference Class Descriptions (updated 3/10/15) Featured Speaker: Michael Bush Michael Bush is one of the leading proponents of treatment free beekeeping. He has been keeping bees since the mid 70's, usually from two to seven hives up until the year Varroa forced more experimentation which required more hives and the number has grown steadily over the years from then. By 2008 it was about 200 hives. He is active on many of the Beekeeping forums with last count at more than 50,000 posts between all of them. He has had an eclectic set of careers from printing and graphic arts, to construction to computer programming and a few more in between. Currently he is working in computers. He has a web site on beekeeping at "His his talks are like his writing, with more content, detail, and depth than one would think possible with such few words...his website and PowerPoint presentations are the gold standard for diverse and common sense beekeeping practices."--dean Stiglitz Featured Speaker: Dr. Roger Hoopingarner On Friday afternoon, Roger will address the conference on the history of the MBA. Roger has been researching this topic for some time. It covers 150 years of beekeeping history in Michigan and the country. What We Wished We Knew Charlotte Hubbard Over 1,000 beekeepers were asked what they wished they d known when they started that would have helped with the steep learning curve. Top items and practical information is shared. Ideal for understanding some of the challenges you ll face and the rewards, presented in a fun, lively approach. Swarm Removal & Cutouts Charlotte Hubbard Capturing a swarm or removing a colony from a structure may seem like getting bees for free, but there s time, equipment, skill and risk. This session will review some essentials, tips and real-life experiences. Building a Website Joan Mandell How to prepare yourself to build a website or hire a designer. What content do you choose to promote your apiary business and how do you collect it? People, Pollinators, Planet Joan Mandell Connecting the dots between beekeeping, nature conservation, gardening, food and citizens movements to protect the bees. Mini-Mating Nucs

2 Mike Risk & Steve Tilmann Mini-mating nucs are tiny hives with big potential. Although they are called mini-mating nucs, this survey class discover that they can be used for much more than queen mating. The first part of the class will discuss the whats, whys and how tos. The second part of the class will discuss constructing a mini-mating nuc in the workshop. Microbials in Honeybees Earl Hoffman First we shall discuss what Microbials are and where they come from. Second we will investigate both pathogens and the beneficial bacteria found in the hive. Third, we will explore the relationship that honeybee health has with bee diseases. And last we hope to share information about treatments and their effect on honeybee beneficial Microbials. What Not To Do in the Beeyard Cindy Dudock If you are a beginning beekeeper who want to have a pleasant first year, this class is for you. Cindy will share some basic secrets to avoid making some memorable experiences in your journey of beekeeping. This class is based on our past mistakes that we want to avoid. Ancient History & Folklore of Beekeeping Cindy Dudock Have you ever wondered about the evolution of beekeeping? This class will provide you with a brief summary of the importance of beekeeping from ancient times to the present, during which, you will be introduced to some of the techniques that have influenced widespread beliefs related to beekeeping traditions. Wildflowers: Nature s Bee Pasture Joel Lantz Upper Peninsula beekeeper Joel Lantz will speak about the ins and outs of tracking the wildflower bloom and how we might enhance our "bee pasture". Come and learn the "hows" and "whys" of this oft neglected part of beekeeping Mead Making Aaron Dionne Mead is an alcoholic beverage that can legally be made at home. It combines honey, water, and yeast to be fermented in a similar way that beer and wine are. Simple, inexpensive equipment and procedures can be used to make your own. Some history and current trends will be discussed in this class. Equipment, ingredients and processes will be shown. Hopefully you will be inspired to make your own mead to share with your friends, and maybe enter into the Michigan Mead Cup competition. Raising Queens for Self-sustaining Beekeeping Mike Risk Raising your own queens is one of the most gratifying and satisfying things you can do with your bees. Learning how opens up a whole new world for understanding why bees react under certain conditions. In this class I discuss the advantages for raising local queens, explain my grafting techniques, the cell building steps and the biology of quality queen cells. Discussion will cover cell care during the incubation period and provide an introduction into mating nucs.

3 Apitherapy: Healing Treasures of the Hive Kristine Jacobson Part 1: Learn the medicinal uses of bee venom, propolis, royal jelly, pollen and honey. Part 2: Actual case history of examples of BVT used with MS, arthritis, chronic pain, wounds and many other auto-immune disorders. Includes live demonstration of how to sting. Bee Biology Jim Withers A brief look at how the hive communicates and self organizes via pheromones and colony needs. On-The-Spot Mentoring Queen Rearing Mel Disselkoen Explain the concepts of raising free quality queens while breaking the varroa mite breeding cycle. Beginners Track 1 & 2 Dale Woods and Kay Barber A full day (2 classes on Friday and 3 classes on Saturday) devoted to the beginning beekeeper. The class will cover the basics of what you need to know in order to get started keeping bees. Nosema Jamie Ostrowski We will discuss the importance of diagnosing nosema, how to test for nosema and treatment of this disease. I will demonstrate the testing process and answer questions. Making Rolled Candles Barb Applebee Make and take candles. Demonstration on making a skep rolled candle with a bee pin. Also show taper candles in four sizes (4, 6 8 and 9 ). Share how you can add decorations to your candles from scrap wax sheets. Three wick candle how it is made. Why I choose the wax wick for my rolled candles vs. raw wick. Sustainable Beekeeping Using Late-Season Nucs Meghan Milbrath Low winter survival forces many beekeepers to replace colonies by purchasing packages from far away - a practice that is becoming less sustainable as package prices continue to skyrocket. In this session we will discuss how to increase winter survival as well as how to efficiently prepare for and recover from losses using your own resources What? Honey Bees make more than Honey? Sheldon Schwitek Honeybees give us honey. We all know that! But people can only eat so much honey. Did you know that there are other things that the bees can provide to a beekeeper? Beeswax, Pollen and Propolis are additional resources that a beekeeper can utilize make additional products. Salves & lotions, lip balm, lotion bars and health related products will be discussed.

4 Considerations for Urban Beekeeping Sheldon Schwitek With the renewed interest in beekeeping, there are quite a few people who want to keep their bees in urban and suburban locations. This session will discuss what it takes to be a considerate and successful beekeeper in these urban environments. We will look briefly at the GAMPSS that have been instituted recently. But more importantly, we will focus on what kind of management practices you can implement so that you are not in conflict with your neighbors or the local authorities. WMU Apiculture Research Installment Alexandra K Leist Student beekeepers Weston Hillier, Ali Leist, and Shaana Way from Western Michigan University (WMU) will present information and personal experiences about the WMU Apiculture Research Installment. The WMU Apiculture Research Installment is an apiary located on university property that is managed entirely by the registered student organization, Students for a Sustainable Earth. They will describe the collaborative development of acquiring funding, locating mentors, forming long-lasting relationships, establishing the hives, and the future plans for expanding the apiary. They seek to provide the perspective of interested students and inspire other institutioncommunity collaborations that will lead to greater scientific literacy and the exchange of information between students and the beekeeping community. Extraction & Marketing Don Lam The class will cover extractors, harvest techniques, bottling and selling. Basics of Pollination Don Lam The class will cover pollination from needs of the farmer and from the viewpoint of the beekeeprs, fees & contracts. The 4-H Beekeeping Experience Nathan Snyder Nathan will talk about his experiences in 4-H and talk about their top bar hive project. Cooking with Honey: Dressing Up Your Flatbreads Angie Foster Today we will be adding some pizazz to unleavened flat bread with delicious honey sauces. We'll be to adding a little dimension to your hors d'oeuvres menu options by learning to make sweet, spiced, and whipped spreads for homemade flat bread wedges, which we will be learning to make as well! Come join me in celebration of sauce and honey! Cooking With Honey: It s Pi Day (314)! Angie Foster Today there is just no way of getting around it... plus, it would be irrational to ignore that fact that it's Pi Day! What better way to celebrate than sampling a traditional Honey Pie, and learning a few more pie filling recipes. My bees are constantly buzzing about the possibility that Einstein preferred Pie over Cake on this special day. Come join me in celebrating the Michigan Beekeepers Association's Birthday and Einstein's Birthday!

5