Bee School Overview
Welcome to SEMBA’s Beginning Bee School. This ten-month course introduces new and aspiring beekeepers to the vast world of beekeeping. The goal is to prepare participants to become consistently successful beekeepers. Through a combination of input from national experts, classroom instruction, and hands-on experience, students work closely with a team of experienced beekeepers to learn what to expect and how to manage the first year of keeping honey bees. The course applies sustainable beekeeping practices and exposes students to a broad spectrum of essentials including the biology of the honey bee, their connection to the pollinators who share their habitats, honey bee health, pests and diseases, seasonal hive management, tools of the trade, and products from the hives.
Students are not required to keep bees to take this class. Many students choose to wait a year before starting their own apiary. Those who keep bees during the class year will raise one colony in the community bee yard, at their respective class sites, and move them to their permanent locations in the fall. Campus apiaries can only support one colony per student; therefore, students opting to keep more than one colony must secure other location sites for those colonies.
Please consider your schedule when committing to this class and/or location. The combination of assigned readings, class discussions, and hands-on learning has a direct impact on participants’ success in beekeeping and colony health. While attendance is not mandatory, lack of attendance can be detrimental to hitting milestones and meeting the course goals.
SEMBA’s mission of honey bee sustainability: For the bees and your bank account, we collaborate with SEMBA’s beekeeping community, the Michigan Beekeepers Association (MBA), and Michigan State University Pollinator Extension Services to provide students with the opportunity to purchase Michigan bred nucleus (‘nuc’) colonies to start their apiaries.
The Beginning Bee School program is offered at 2 locations:
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MSU Extensions Tollgate Farm, 28115 Meadowbrook Road, Novi Conference Center/Barn and Community Bee yard.
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Bowers School Farm, 1223 East Square Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills Farm Activity Building (FAB) and Community Bee yard
At both locations, classes take place on Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
2027 Class Schedule
| |
Class Date |
Class Topic |
| 1 |
January 31, 2027
|
So, You Want to Be a Beekeeper?
|
| 2 |
February 21, 2027
|
All Things Equipment
|
| 3 |
March 14, 2027
|
Bees’ / Beekeeper’s Needs
|
| 4 |
April 11, 2027
|
Topic TBD
|
| 5 |
May 2, 2027
|
Prep for Arrival of Nucs
|
| 6 |
May 23, 2027
|
Hive Inspections / Assessing Queens
|
| 7 |
June 13, 2027
|
Swarms, Nucs & Splits
|
| 8 |
July 11, 2027
|
All Things Mites / Parasites
|
| 9 |
August 15, 2027
|
Honey Harvest
|
| 10 |
September 19, 2027
|
More Mites / Winter Prep
|
| 11 |
October 17, 2027
|
That’s a Wrap!
|
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Tuition: $550 per person. This includes the required textbook, Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping, Caron and Connor, your required SEMBA dues, and an assembled wooden five-frame nuc box. Added guest registrations do not include book and nuc.
