In our concluding session, the following topics will be covered:

• How to keep your bees from swarming, getting sick, or undergoing stress.
• Know what to do if the colony loses its queen.
• Understand the increasingly important role that honey bee nutrition plays in avoiding health problems.
• Learn how to identify common bee diseases and what your options are for dealing with bee health issues.
• Discover “natural” approaches to maintaining bee health that avoid or minimize the use of chemicals in the hive.
• Become familiar with the various other creatures that can negatively impact the health and well-being of your honey-bee colony. See what to do to avert trouble before it happens.
• Find out how honey is made, where it originates, what it consists of, and why it’s so good for you.
• Discover the six basic types of honey and the myriad of varietals that give honey its unique colors and flavors.
• Learn how to taste and evaluate honey for culinary appreciation and competitive judging. Note: All participants will get a chance to sample some rare and amazing honeys from around the world.
• Decide what type of honey you want to produce, how and when to harvest and package it, and how to go about marketing it.

Beekeeper, international lecturer, and author of Beekeeping for Dummies, Howland Blackiston will take you into the world of bees and beekeeping. Howland has over thirty years of experience in all facets of beekeeping including crafting mead and making candles from beeswax. Howland is a past president of the Backyard Beekeepers Association https://backyardbeekeepers.com/ a local association with meetings in Weston.  Howland Blackiston's various books, papers, and publications have been translated into 16 languages.