SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR NEW JERSEY STUDENTS

Any New Jersey, full-time student interested in becoming involved in beekeeping can apply for a scholarship to one of the Rutgers, Essex, Jersey Cape or Sussex courses offered below. The youth must be a New Jersey resident, a full-time student and between the ages of 12 and 22 as of the start date of the course they are applyng for. Application deadline is February 1, 2014. Click here for complete guidelines. Click here for an application form. If you have any questions about this program, please email scholarship@njbeekeepers.org.


• Basic Beekeeping: Three Day Short Course - Saturdays, February 16 & March 2, 2013 (snow date March 16, 2013) Garibaldi Hall, Essex County Environmental Center, 621B Eagle Rock Avenue, Roseland, NJ 07068. Field Day in April 2013 TBA at various area apiaries. Run by the Essex County branch of the NJBA, this course will take you through a full year of beekeeping, and teach you everything you need to get started, from equipment, through management, biology, pest control, and harvest. Tuition $150, which includes one year NJBA membership, class materials, continental breakfast, and afternoon snack. Class size is limited to 40 students. For more information, contact Patty Gamsby, bjornlass@aol.com, 973 396-8996. Full-time students ages 12 to 22 may be eligible to apply for a scholarship. (See above.)



• March, 2012: The Sussex County branch typically offers an "Introduction to Beekeeping" short course at the Sussex County Fairground Administration Building in March. Details will be be posted when available.



• 2012 Bee-ginners Beekeeping Course - Offered by the Jersey Cape Beekeepers Association and the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County in Cape May Court House, NJ, has been held on six Friday evenings in two-hour sessions from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. starting in the Feburary-March time frame. The final session is held on a Saturday in April when the bees arrive. For an application, click here. For course material options, click here.



• Bee-ginner's Beekeeping at Rutgers - October 10-12, 2013. Hands-on course for new beekeepers to start and care for a honeybee colony. 9:00AM to 4:00 PM on Thursday and Friday; 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon on Saturday in Bordentown. NJ. This is a great course that covers basic bee biology, hive management, queen bee purchasing, honey extraction, candle-making and more. Hands-on sessions include assembling hives, opening and examining colonies, as well as honey tasting. Taught by Bob Hughes and Tim Schuler. The cost of the course is $195, or $175 for NJBA members, which includes breakfast and lunch on Thursday and Friday. NOTE: This course will be offered again in April, 2014. See website for details.



• Beyond the Basics: Practical Hive Management Tools for Beekeepers - June 13-14, 2013. There is a waitlist, but this COURSE IS FULL! This two-day, hands-on course is tailored to beekeepers who have kept a hive of bees for a full year and will include IPM (Integrated Pest Management), how to move hives, how to feed, how to harvest honey and small-scale queen and nuc production. It will not cover beekeeping fundamentals. Taught by Bob Hughes and Tim Schuler, class size is limited to 40. The course if $245 prior to May 19, 2013 or $275 after that date. Course fee includes breakfast. Box lunches are available for an additional $20. Click here for details and and online registration. For mail or fax registration, call 732-932-9271.



• Eastern Apiculture Society (EAS) Annual Conference - Every summer EAS conducts its Annual Conference consisting of lectures, workshops, vendor displays, short courses for beginning and advanced beekeepers, and annual business meeting in one of its 26 member states or provinces in the Eastern United States and Canada. Over 400 people generally attend the conference each year. EAS 2013 will be held August 5-9, 2013 in West Chester, Pennsylvania.



• Apimondia 2013 a biennial, international beekeeping congress to be held in Kyiv, Ukraine September, 2013.
  
  
• Delaware Valley College Summer Beekeeping Course - The annual summer Beekeeping short-course will be offered July 12-14, 2013 (9:00 am to 4:00 pm, daily).The Delaware Valley College’s Beekeeping Course is intended for all skill levels. Previous participants have ranged from professional beekeepers to beginning hobbyists. Participants must be 13 years old unless accompanied by an adult. Bring your own lunch. A video will be shown during lunch. Teachers and nature center directors also attended and also used the material in their own classrooms. A number of people included the course in their summer vacations. Taught by Dr. Vincent Aloyo, Ph.D.(40 years beekeeping experience) and Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Christopher Tipping. The cost is $170. For further information on this and a Queen Rearing class on May 11-12, 2013, go to their website.



• Pfeiffer Center: April 26-27, 2013, Chestnut Ridge, NY. Conscious Beekeeping: Practical Holistic Approaches for Beginning and Advanced Beekeepers with Bill Day, Megan Durney, and Ron Breland. Annual intensive for intermediate/advanced beekeepers, with expert practitioners on using holistic methods to help bees thrive. Cost is $195 or $235 with an Optional session for beginners. Contact The Pfeiffer Center, 845-352-5020 x20 or info@pfeiffercenter.org for details.

Video Library for NJBA Members

• The NJBA maintains a library of video tapes and CD's for members to borrow. Managed by member Pat Ricci, you can arrange with him to pick tapes up at any CJBA or State meeting if you contact him in advance. They can also be mailed to you for the cost of postage. For details and a list of available tapes, click here.

Marketing Materials

• Bees on the Move - Swarming is how honey bees reproduce. During swarming, honey bees are at their gentlest, but the buzzing and sheer numbers can be intimidating to the general public. There were many more swarms than usual in the spring of 2008 due mainly to cool, rainy weather conditions. New beekeepers Pier Guidi and Liz Nelson were inspired at a state NJBA meeting by long-term member Tom Fuscaldo who for years has handed out a typed page on swarms to the public whenever he has retrieved a swarm. Please feel free to print out this brochure and hand it out whenever you're collecting a swarm, giving a talk on bees or manning the booth at a fair. Electronically, you can provide people with a link. Kudos to new members Pier and Liz for rolling up their sleeves and acting on their idea to update Tom's hard copy and get it on the web and accessible! Click here for a two-sided version.

• NJBA Trifold Brochure - This brochure can be downloaded and printed to be used as a promotional piece at fairs or to give to prospective members. If you would like to change it to have it customized with your branch contact, please send the changes to Curtis Crowell, and the modified brochure will be posted here.


• NJBA Decal - Seventeen months in the making, the educational NJBA decal is available! The New Jersey state insect since 1974, urbanization in the state is limiting opportunities for beekeepers. With several New Jersey towns passing ordinances against keeping bees, the decal was created to educate the public about the benefits of the honeybee and what a honeybee actually looks like so they do not get mistaken for the less beneficial stinging yellow jackets, wasps and hornets. NJBA members should be displaying their decals in the windows of their vehicles and homes and distributing them at roadside stands, farm markets, annual agricultural convention and county fairs. If you have not received your decals, contact your branch secretary.

Topics of Interest

• Swarms? Honey bees reproduce by "casting swarms" in the spring. Hives that are healthy and strong will produce new queens in the early spring. When the new queen emerges, the old queen leaves with about half of the hive population. The swarm will usually settle in a bush or tree and form a large solid cluster while scout bees search for a new home. At this time, with full honey stomachs and no brood or hive to defend, these swarming bees are not typically agressive. In a few hours or a day or two they will fly off to a new home. Click here for pictures of honey bee swarms. Have a swarm within reach on your property? Send the location of the swarm, address, how long it has been there and contact information to swarms@njbeekeepers.org, or click here for a list of beekeepers in the New Jersey that you can contact directly for swarm removal.

  A swarm in May - is worth a load of hay.

  A swarm in June - is worth a silver spoon.

  A swarm in July - isn't worth a fly.