Interested in knowing more about bees and maybe keeping your own hive?

The newly formed Mudgee Bee Group is inviting any aspiring apiarists to come along to their next meeting on Tuesday 6 September.

Following a two day beekeeping course hosted by Watershed Landcare and delivered by Tocal College in April a number of Watershed members and graduates of the course identified a need for more 'bee learning'.

The Mudgee Bee Group formed as a Watershed Landcare special interest group to provide more training, peer support and mentoring to it's members.

The group currently meets on the first Tuesday evening of the month at the Straw Bale Shed, Australian Rural Education Centre (AREC).

The August meeting featured a couple of expert speakers; Sheryl McIntosh from the Amateur Beekeepers Association (ABA) of NSW and Atif Jamil from Hornsby Beekeeping Supplies.

Sheryl is the ABA Treasurer and keeps 30-40 hives on her Capertee property. She shared her knowledge on managing a hive over a calendar year with the group.

Atif's presentation focused on equipment for a new beekeeper and the different hive varieties.

The group will be keeping community bee hives to provide novice beekeepers with an opportunity to gain experience in handling bees and is currently in the process of setting these up. The hives have been donated to the group and will provide the group with hands-on experience in starting and maintaining a hive.

Members will also see the process through to completion; extracting their own liquid gold. Obtaining all the equipment necessary for extracting honey can be expensive for someone just starting out so the group will have a pool of equipment available for members' use.

Want to get involved? Then why not come along to the Tuesday 6 September meeting where the Mudgee Bee Group have invited speakers Hayley Pragert, Bee Biosecurity Officer from the Department of Primary Industries and Doug Purdie from the Urban Beehive Sydney. Doug will also be bringing along products available to purchase.

Contact Claudia Wythes, Watershed Landcare Co-ordinator, on 0412 011 064 or by email: claudia.wythes@watershedlandcare.com.au for more information or to RSVP.

The Mudgee Bee Group is supported by Watershed Landcare and is part of the NSW Government’s Local Landcare Coordinators Initiative, supported through the partnership of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW.