Introductory beekeeping classes to start next week

Gainesville residents will soon be able to learn the art of beekeeping.

Starting Feb. 18, the Alachua County Extension Office, in collaboration with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the UF Bee Unit and Master Beekeepers, is hosting a six-part series on beekeeping until Nov. 18. The first class will cost $10, and the following classes will cost $5. Each session will host between 35 to 45 people.

The classes will teach everything from colony management to gardening and its effects on bees. They aim to increase public understanding about current research, said community horticulture agent Tatiana Sanchez, who helps collect information about horticulture for Alachua County residents.

“(The classes) serve as a tool that is available for everybody and allows people to make informed decisions on particular areas of interest,” Sanchez said.

Emily Helton, the assistant extension coordinator of UF’s Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab, said the Extension Office is offering up labs for the beekeeping series.

“We reach out, create events and programs for people to work through to help them learn and understand that world of honey bees,” Helton said.

The series will allow honey bee enthusiasts to learn and work with their hives year-round, Sanchez said. In past years, introductory beekeeping classes were always highly attended.

“Beekeeping seems to always be a topic of interest in many counties, and Alachua is not the exception,” she said.