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TOPBAR BEEKEEPING FOR BEEKEEPERS WITH EXPERIENCE

THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR BEEKEEPERS WHO HAVE A LITTLE OR A LOT OF LANGSTROTH HIVE BEEKEEPING EXPERIENCE, who are familiar with bee basics and language, and either have some topbar experience or think they might like to explore topbar beekeeping in the future. We will spend Sunday afternoon together at Green Hill Urban Farm, learning about topbar with Les. A thriving topbar hive will be close at hand, in the garden, for Les to also demonstrate some hands-on topbar basics with the bees. This session is intended to be tailor-made for our more experienced community so bring your topbar questions in abundance.

The cost of your workshop includes a craft beverage made for the event by beverage master Andrew Zinn.

LES CROWDER has devoted his entire adult life to the study and care of honeybees. He has kept bees in a variety of hives for nearly 40 years and has been experimenting with top bar hives since 1980. He has maintained a small honey and beeswax business for about 30 years and taught beekeeping for 25 years. As a toddler, Les was fascinated by insects. The first swarm of honeybees came to him in his early teens and he was transfixed. He became a teenage beekeeper, removing bees from homes to save them from the poison of the exterminator. He then worked with a large-scale commercial beekeeper, where he saw a type of beekeeping that seemed destructive to bees. This inspired Les to develop a beekeeping style that is inexpensive and completely chemical and treatment free. A leader in his community, Les has served as New Mexico's Honeybee Inspector and president of the New Mexico Beekeepers Association. In 2009, he received the best instructor award at the NM Organic Farming conference. He is well-beloved by students and colleagues alike for his love of bees and nature, his gentle teaching methods, and his generous spirit. For more information about Les, visit: fortheloveofbees.com.