Urban beekeeping for beginners

Are you a backyard beekeeper, an urban beehive enthusiast, or an amateur who wants to learn more about our precious pollinators? Join us for our Beekeeping Course for Beginners, hosted on the rooftop of Sydney Community College, Rozelle.

We are proud to contribute to the biodiversity of our local neighbourhood by keeping buzzing beehives on our inner-city rooftop. You too can play your part in your local ecosystem by learning how to keep bees in your own backyard!

Bees from city bee yards are said to be healthier and more productive than their country cousins. Their presence also provides cities with enormous environmental benefits as they pollinate a wide variety of native plants that may otherwise struggle in urban environments - playing an important role in our food supply.

Keeping bees is also a fantastic way to nurture your own garden and grow wonderful fruit and vegetables - as well as another sweet reward: producing your own hyper-local and delicious pure honey!

This unique learning experience offers a rare close-up look at the fascinating life of European honeybees as well as our very own native Australian bees. You will learn the art of responsible backyard and urban beekeeping, including how to make sure your bees are happy and healthy. 

This day-long workshop experience includes an opportunity to don protective gear (provided) and see inside the working hives on our rooftop. You will also take home a copy of fundamental beekeeping book 'BeeAgSkills', published by NSW Primary Industries. Most importantly, you will learn how rewarding it can be to keep bees in your own backyard.                            

Course content

What will be covered in this beekeeping course?

• Why the sudden interest in bees?

• Issues affecting the world bee population - disease, mites and hive deaths

• Native bees

• European honeybees

• Bee biology

• Building healthy colonies, natural beekeeping, commercial beekeeping and urban beekeeping

• What goes on inside a hive

• Hive types - Langstroth, Warre and Kenyan hives - relative productivity and ease of maintenance

• Becoming a "beek" - the regulations and personal commitment

• Getting started and the costs involved

• Healthy bees and how to maintain them

• Bee diseases

Course materials

If the weather is right, we will visit and open the rooftop hives. A protective jacket, veil and gloves will be provided, but please bring the following items to class:

• Wear long pants and enclosed shoes

• Bring a device or pen & notepad for taking notes

Please note: the classroom is accessible, but the rooftop hives are accessed via a narrow staircase (22 steps)

For further information, please visit Sydney Community College.