Established beekeepers in Canada take the winter months to rest up and plan for a new year of beekeeping, decide what bees to order for spring, and check over their equipment — repairing, cleaning, building or purchasing hive equipment as required.

At this time, new beekeepers should be making plans to buy the equipment and bees you’ll need to get started when spring comes. To help, Country Fields Beekeeping Supplies Ltd. has prepared A Guide for the Beginning Beekeeper for an overview of basic beekeeping information:

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Apimondia, the Italian Beekeepers’ Federation, and the Honey Research Centre of the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” announce the 2nd International Forum on Apitherapy, Apimedica and Apiquality 2008. The event will be held from 9 to 12 June 2008 at the Villa Mondragone Congress Centre in Rome, Italy.

The first International Forum Apimedica 2006, considered the relationship between apitherapy and mainstream medicine, and how these fields could complement each other. Apimedica and Apiquality 2008 reflects the focus that Apimondia has been pursuing in recent years, and aims at the development and improvement of quality standards on apitherapy and bee products for the benefit of both beekeepers and the public at large.

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Over the next two months, in advance of the New Brunswick Agriculture Summit scheduled for 3–4 April 2008 in Fredericton, the province’s Agriculture and Aquaculture Minister Ronald Ouellette will travel around the province to meet with industry stakeholders.

Schedule of consultation sessions

• 21 January — Grand Falls, Près-du-Lac Inn, 1-3 p.m.
• 22 January — Bathurst, Atlantic Host Hotel, 1-3 p.m.
• 28 January — Centreville, Kinsmen’s Community Hall, 7-9 p.m.
• 29 January — Miramichi, Rodd Miramichi River Hotel, 10 a.m. - 12 noon
• 29 January — Tracadie-Sheila, Complexe des deux rivières, 4-6 p.m.
• 30 January — Mactaquac, Holiday Inn Hotel & Resort, 7-9 p.m.
• 12 February — Moncton, Future Inns, 7-9 p.m.
• 13 February — Sussex, All Seasons Inn, 1-3 p.m.

The purpose of these consultations is to gain a full understanding of the prevalent issues, perceptions and concerns in order to fine-tune the pre-Summmit discussion document, prioritize the areas for discussion, and develop a process and agenda for the Summit.

The discussion document is available through the Department of Agriculture and Aquaculture’s regional offices or the departmental website at http://www.gnb.ca/agriculture.

Members of the general public who are unable to attend the consultation sessions, but who still wish to provide feedback, may submit their comments in writing (in either French or English) by email to DAA-MAA@gnb.ca or by fax at 506-453-5210.

Robin and Stella Mountain, formerly beekeepers from South Africa, now tour operators living in the USA, are running a Beekeeping Safari in South Africa,
2 - 15 December 2008.

The special-interest holiday tour is planned to offer activities to appeal to beekeepers and their non-beekeeping companions alike.


On the Tour:

• Beekeeping in the Apis mellifera scutellata region
• Lesedi Cultural Village, Cradle of Humankind, Pretoria
• Swaziland: Beekeeping in Bulembu / Visit Swazi Candle, Ngwenya Glass Factory
• 2 Full days Safari in the Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga
• Your chance to see the “Big Five” (Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Cape Buffalo, Elephant)
• Beekeeping in the Apis mellifera capensis region
• Cape Town with visits to the African Penguin Breeding Colony, Cape Point, Table Mountain
• Kirstenbosch, the most famous South African Botanical Garden
• Visit the Winelands and Stellenbosch

For more details, including a full itinerary and pricing information, visit www.NtabaTours.com or contact Robin Mountain at Ntaba Tours, by email at mountainbee@fewpb.net or ntabatours@yahoo.com.

Central Beekeepers Alliance member Gail Duncan will be presenting “The Apiarist in You,” an introduction to bees and beekeeping, as part of the Becoming an Outdoors Woman® 2008 workshop of outdoor skills instruction for women.

BOW 2008 for New Brunswick is sponsored by the New Brunswick Wildlife Federation. It will be held 6 - 8 June 2008 at Green Hill Lake Camp, Lower Hainesville, NB. The registration fee of $180.00 covers all instruction, program materials, use of equipment, meals, shared accommodations, and transportation to offsite locations for the weekend. Visit www.becominganoutdoorswoman.ca for more information or to register. Enrollment is limited.

The New Brunswick event is just one of more than 80 such workshops held across North America each year. Visit Becoming an Outdoors Woman® at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point website for a schedule of BOW workshops in other provinces and states.