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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: David Eckert <daveckert AT gmail.com>
  • To: Orange County Beekeepers Association <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [ocba] Cluster Guides Needed
  • Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2017 22:08:25 -0500

Hello Beekeepers!


I hope everyone has been enjoying this brief little warm spell and found nice healthy, well fed winter clusters out stretching their wings today!

 

I'm writing to you because the 2017 OCBA Bee School is well underway and a wonderful group of new beekeepers will soon be starting their honey bee colonies all across Orange County.  Which means that it’s time for those of us with experience keeping bees to volunteer to lend a hand and help our newest members get started off right. 

 

We need 10-15 beekeepers that have kept honey bees over two or more winters, and that will volunteer to work with other experienced beekeepers to guide a “Cluster” of new beekeepers through their first year of beekeeping.  We call these groups of new and experienced beekeepers the First Year Clusters.

 

So what exactly is a First Year Cluster and what would it mean to guide a First Year Cluster?

 

A First Year Cluster is a group of 2 to 8 new beekeepers that are located near each other and are paired with 2 nearby beekeepers that have experience in keeping honey bees.  These Clusters will meet once a month in a member's apiary from April to September and help the new beekeepers acquire the knowledge and basic skills needed to establish and maintain the new honey bee colonies through their first winter.  Guiding a First Year Cluster does not require that you to have all the answers, only that you provide the opportunity to ask the questions and some direction on where and how to find high quality information that may (or may not) answer the question.  It is beekeeping after all, there are many answers to every question.  Right?

 

If you are considering helping out and want to learn more, please take a look at http://theocba.org/cluster-volunteers/ and fill out the form at the bottom to volunteer.

 

Remember!!  If you are working toward the Journeyman or Master level in the NCSBA Master Beekeeper Program then guiding a First Year Cluster can be used toward your required service credits. 

 

Let me know if you have any questions and thank you for helping out!

David



  • [ocba] Cluster Guides Needed, David Eckert, 02/06/2017

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