What can you do in this project with local Beekeepers as mentors? 

• Learn about bees as pollinators and the important role they play in our food supply as well as the plants and trees on which they forage.
• Learn about the amazing honeybee, their anatomy and how they function as a colony with complex communications, social interaction, teamwork and much more.
• Learn about hive placement, legal and environmental considerations and the cost and time commitment for “beecoming” a beekeeper.
• Experience how to assemble various parts of a hive, use a smoker and hive tools and determine what bee-proof clothing to wear.
• Experience the opening of a beehive and observe bee behavior while locating eggs, larvae, brood, honey, pollen and nectar within the hive.
• Experience starting and managing a 4-H beehive at the Mequon Nature Preserve Apiary. This includes the harvesting of honey.

Grades:  6-13

Cost:  $25 due at first class.  Fundraising efforts may also be necessary to purchase wooden hive parts, tools, supplies, bees and bee suits for participants.

Location, Dates and Time:

The Countywide Beekeeping Project meetings take place at the Mequon Nature Preserve, 8200 W County Line Rd., Mequon WI 53097.

• Meeting dates/times TBD.

For further enrichment, participants may wish to attend local monthly Bee Club Meetings.

For more information, please contact:

Donna Baldwin-Haut at djhaut2006@sbcglobal.net