April 14th, 2012

Werner will be keynote speaking about  Beekeeping: The Wholistic Approach

Where: Unitarian Church of Calgary, 1703 1 Street Northwest  Calgary, AB T2M 4P4

Time: 7-9pm

Cost: Donation, recommended $10.00. All procededs will go to The Calgary Permaculture Guild and The Community Pollinator Foundation.

Details: Werner will be sharing stories about his own experiences beekeeping according to biodynamic pricipals. With a glance at where the concept of biodynamics came from, Werner will offer information about wholistic and sustainable ways of producing food, philosophies of earth cycles, Rudolf Steiner and Maria Thun, as well as talk aboutchanges in the world of beekeeping and strategies to maintain sustainable hives through sustainable practices.

If you would like more information about the event, please go to www.backyardbees.ca/courses

April 15th, 2012

A.B.C is offering a full day workshop taught by Werner Gysi, Colony Management Using a Holistic/Biodynamic Approach

Where: The Calgary Canoe Club, 6449 Crowchild Tr SW  Calgary, AB T3E 7C6

Time: 9:00am- 5:00pm

Cost: $120.00. Register here.  Includes Werner’s book, Harmonic Farming: Beekeeping, fully catered healthful lunch and tea break snacks.

Details: Here is the course outline for the day:

Colony management using a holistic/biodynamic approach

Equipment, etc.

1. Langstroth hive with all its components, incl. Insulation, feeder pail, entrance reducer, newspaper, foundation, old comb, processed wax, etc.
2. A nuc, swarm box
3. Tools (hive tool, also elastosil used to make mold)
4. The finished mold, candles, propolis
5. Literature
6. Included with the workshop is one copy per participant of Harmonic Farming: Bees. No other literature is handed out.

Introduction, the basics

A briefing on inspiration received along Werner’s path, foremost from uncle Roebi, Rudolf Steiner and Maria Thun and Werner’s “inner self” (mention that we should take information and process it consciously, listening to our heart, trying out things)

Why a holistic, sustainable way to produce food?

Explaining my view of mother Earth using an equation: Earth+seed=life+death=Earth (a cycle) in order to explain why I consider a holistic approach mandatory.

The philosophy of Rudolf Steiner (body, mind, spirit, intuition, and how I apply it in my daily life related to agriculture, in particular in regards to:

-ether  or in biodinamics called life form

-astral (senses and intuition),

-ego (to be, spirituality)

-energy flow (slide)

Introducing the calendar from Maria Thun

Definitions used in bio-dynamics that relate to beekeeping:

-root, flower, fruit, leaf days (slide)  this first hour is the same as given during the seminar

The anatomy of the bee

The queen, bees, drones

queen cells, cups, bee cells, drone cells

Life cycles

frames and brood nest

The environment

Unpredictable impacts

Predictable impacts

Equipment and tools (10′)

Timing (20′)

            Using the calendar (Maria Thun)

Natural pointers

Managing an apiary with 7 hive

(1^st time that the colony is opened)

            Harvest, Preparing the colonies for winter (August)

SMC (sustainable mite control)

feeding teas

Preparing hive for winter

Sorting frames, what to look for

Cleansing flight (Early March)

The scrap board, determine strength

Diagnose for nosema and AFB

(2^nd time that the colony is opened)

SMC and IPM (integrated pest management (Mid to Late March)

Mite control (SMC, IPM)

Pollen sources

Worker bee laying eggs

Uniting weak hives

(3^rd time that the colony is opened)

Spring Management (May)

Mite control (SMC)

Feeding teas if required, collecting plants for tea

Starting with a nuc

Why counting bees?

            Breeding

            forced swarming, splits

            Swarms

            Types of swarms

Catching

(4^th time that the colony is opened)

Observing (Summer time)

Removal of drone frames

Adding a honey box

Honey processing

            Extracting

Straining

Storing honey and frames

Recycling wax

The equipment

The frames

Making a mold

            Explain and show 5 min movie to make mold and produce foundation

Could it be: Collective beekeeping? Someone to shop or cook with? Accessibility to foods you want or need, without worry about cost? Communally grown food?

Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association seeks to build a thriving community and food hub beginning 2012 and we want to know what is important to you when it comes to food and community.

Join us for an exciting day filled with invigorating presentations, workshops, food and fun. Learn about different perspectives of food security and what that might mean to you. Help us to discover what is possible, what inspires and what is necessary.

 Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association—1320 5^th Ave NW

SATURDAY JANUARY 21 11-3 pm.

This is a free and open event.

Presentations & Collaborations By: 

•    Kris Vester, Blue Mountain Dynamic Farms & President of Slow Food Calgary

Bio Dynamic Farmer, Slow Food President and Food Activist, Kris has a deep knowledge of food systems from many angles. Not only is he passionate about food, he is also passionate about community which is apparent in his open and welcoming presence. Kris holds a whole system perspective when it comes to food being from earth to table. His presentation style is straight forward and surely will expand our horizons on how we relate to food and community.

http://members.shaw.ca/bluemtnbio-dynamics/ ; http://slowfoodcalgary.ca/

• ·          Eliese Watson, Apiaries and Bees for Communities

Founder of ABC Bees, Elise is the queen bee of urban bee keeping.  With her buzzing energy, wit and passion, one cannot help but be inspired by her presence and stories. Some of her work includes urban bee keeping courses, collective purchase of bees, foster care and rescue, public speaking and education. Her knowledge and experience bring a unique and critical perspective to community food and local food security. You won’t want to miss out on this opportunity to engage with Elise.

http://www.backyardbees.ca/

LEARN more about what is already happening in the community that features local food!

IMAGINE discuss and explore community food

WATCH an energizing film about food and community (Short kids feature and documentary)

CREATE your own Global Bucket or terrarium to take home

EAT and drink local bounty featuring local producers and ingredients.

This is an important opportunity to change the landscape of how we think about food in our neighborhood and city. Follow our updates on Facebook & at

www.hillhurstsunnysidecommunity.com

The Community Pollinator Foundations (CPF) first Annual General Meeting is coming up and I thought I would send you an invite and the details of the event!

Date: March 16th, 2012

Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm

Location: Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Association

Cost: Donation

Keynote: Kirk Anderson, Backwards Beekeepers Los Angeles

A Little History of the CPF

The CPF is a non-profit organization which began in the Summer of 2011. The Foundation was created with the goal of creating educational and research opportunities on native pollinators (solitary bees and bumblebees are the current focus) and was incredibly successful in its first year. With grant money received from the Cooperators Youth Impact! Fund, the CPF received $5000 in its first year to design, build, and install the Audio Bee Booth at the Calgary Zoo. This installation allows for guests of the Zoo to see wild solitary bees nest in an artificial nesting site, while also being able to listen in to the workings of the nesting sites through earphones. The plexiglass overing the nests is also attached to resonation boards and microphones, allowing the observer to have an intimate connection with the beautiful creatures.

The CPF also held the Mead and Honey Tasting Gala on May 21st, 2o11. We raised almost $5000 to help fund the creation of the Bumblebee Recue and Foster Parent Program. The project sprouted wings and was featured on the Discovery Channels Daily Planet (Click to view) on September 1, 2011 and CBC Radio broadcast.

The Goals for 2012 and the CPF

2012 is going to be an even more amazing year for the CPF. This is because the CPF has recently received ove $7500 in grants to successfully fund:

- Hiring a full time summer student employee of the CPF hired through Mount Royal Universities non-profit studies direct field work program to manage summer activities, public liason and support,  fundraising activities, and research compilation.

- Hiring 2 summer students from Mount Royal Universities Biological Sciences Program in conjuntion with Dr. Robin Owen’s active research. These students will preform Bumblebee Resuces  and lab research to aid in the CPF’s understanding of bumblebee health, distribution, populations, and species distribution within Calgary’s city limits.

Why is all of this important?

Calgary is in a unique position, both socially and scientifically. The interest Calgarians have in supporting pollinator health is overwhelming, and in conjunction with the fact that Calgary is home to more then 12 species of bumblebee and Alberta is home to more than 20 (The highest density of bumblebee species found in a single region in the WHOLE WORLD!) And therefore we are able to observe species distribution and changes in those distributions. It is all very exciting because the average Calgarian can take part in the research simply by enjoying and observing the bees in their yard or by calling the Bumblebee Hotline and having a colony rescued instead of poisoned!

The Goals of the AGM.

We have invited Kirk Anderson, founder of Backwards Beekeepers Los Angeles to keynote speak at this years 2012 AGM. He is a leader in his community advocating for pollinator health and offering educational materials and programming to make LA a more pollinator friendly city!

- We are looking for leaders in the community to take on board positions and roles to help the CPF develop and maintain a healthy partnership with Mount Royal University by offering support to the full-time NFP summer student

- We are needing an accountant/bookkeeper familiar with NFP accounting

- Advocates eager to help with the 2012 Mead and Honey Tasting Gala fundraiser for the CPF.

A full description of the positions available for election at the 2012 AGM will be available at www.thepollinatorfoundation.org after February 10th, 2012. If you are interested in nominating yourself or another, please feel free to contact us here

Click here for more details or to register

During these five days, the farm will be worked by a rotating crew.  

Day One: One crew will focus on pulling honey, blowing, brushing and shaking  while the second crew will be extracting honey in the honey house and learn how to un-cap and run an entire extracting line.

Day Two:    The two crews will rotate their duties so that the first crew will now extract honey etc while the second crew will focus on pulling honey, blowing, brushing etc.

Day Three:  The two crews will come together to process bees wax, make candles, bottle honey and cut comb.

Day Four: We’ll focus on what has to be done – we may extract or pull some honey, move hives or whatever the farm needs.

Day Five: We’ll cap off the week with a wine tour, an organic farm tour, an organic brewery tour and a BBQ consisting of local fare!!

Learn about beekeeping on a small diversified operation and what it’s all about.  You’ll find out how to deal with mites and how to use organic acids.  You’ll be immersed in the real world of beekeeping.  We will work side-by-side , getting to know one another and make new friends in the community.  Be ready to break a sweat as we run around 200 colonies !!  As part of your reward, you’ll take home honey, candles, a workbook, and the experience of a lifetime!

We are excited to offer A Working Holiday so that you can not only develop a passion for beekeeping, but experience all that the Shuswap region has to offer ! You may be  interested in becoming a small commercial beekeeper or learning about sustainable agriculture.  Or you could simply be curious about the path from the farm to your plate or seeking a holiday that provides a bit of adventure.  Whatever your reason, A Working Holiday will provide a unique enjoyable experience you’re not likely to forget.

A Working Holiday runs only the third week of August and the first week of September.  We look for a crew of four to six people per week.  You’ll be busy but it’s not all work and no play…..we are just minutes away from a wonderful beach in Sunnybrae, there’s a hot tub on site and there’s always time to enjoy the local wines, beer or ale.

 2012 SCHEDULE
Week One:  August 20th        -      August 24th                             

Week Three:  September 3rd    -      September 7th
         PRICE:    $1195 per person  CAD +HST

To Register Contact Us
Pricing includes all meals – 3 meals a day for 5 days! Includes accommodation – 5 nights in our comfortable cabin which contains shower, toilet, fridge, and 3 double beds. If 6 people in 3 doubles sounds a bit cramped we do have room for tents and even have 30 amp service for a moderate 5-th wheel or motorhome.
This is an advanced beekeeping course dealing with;

• honey extracting, pulling, handling, bottling, creaming, and cutting comb. We’ll even be looking at showing liquid honey at your local fair.
• wax processing, candle making, making beeswax cosmetics.
• Learn about Formic Acid and Oxalic Acid and monitoring mite levels and hive health.
• The classroom is the apiary, the honey house, the bottling room. It is all hands-on!
• With only 4-6 people, the atmosphere will be intimate. That means your questions will be answered.

Beyond the beekeeping itself you will enjoy a wonderful Shuswap visit;

• Our farm tours will consist of Crannog Ales, Recline Ridge Winery, and Gorts Gouda Cheese. These are gems in the Shuswap and our bees visit them all!
• After supper you can hang here, relax by the creek, or hot tub.
• You can take a short drive to several beaches and enjoy a dip in the lake.
• You will be introduced to new people and enjoy a feeling of community and experience Shuswap hospitality.
• Witness and be a part of successful and sustainable agriculture in action.

Event: Community Hive Collaborative Purchase Bee Meeting

Details: Come to the meeting and learn how the Community Hive Collaborative Purchase is going to work: video introduction to Bill Stagg (the beekeeper we are getting our 75 colonies from), review of the NEW PURCHASING WEBSITE!, Online beekeeper examination,  membership fees, and information about how the collaborative purchase of equipment is going to run this year (We have a goal of sourcing up to 80% of the equipment locally from local artisans!)

Where: Fairmont Palliser Hotel, Alberta Room on the mezzanine level

When: Wednesday, January 25th, 2012. 7pm-9pm

The Palliser Fairmont hotel is sponsoring this event, offering coffee, tea and cookies for all who attend! How great is that!?

The website, www.cp.thecommunityhive.org, will be launched by January 18th, 2012. There you will be able to register for a membership, review the Collaborative Purchase Agreement, take the beekeeping exam, and eventually order your equipment for the season. Remember that you can always go to the www.thecommunityhive.org to ask questions and share information amongst eachother.

I hope to see you there! If you have any questions. please contact Connie or me at:

Connie: beebraver@gmail.com

Eliese Watson: eliese@backyardbees.ca

The CHCP is an unincorporated/unregistered community group of individuals who desire access to local honeybees and honeybee keeping equipment. This CHCP membership is open to the general public.  Individuals who apply and that are accepted as Members are informed and aware individuals who assume full responsibility and all liability associated with their honeybees’ welfare and care.

Reasons for joining the CHCP span the spectrum from ideological to utilitarian. The CHCP has been organized to follow the values of the Co-operative model:

Cooperatives are based on the cooperative values of “self-help, self-responsibility, democracy and equality, equity and solidarity” and the seven cooperative principles.

1. Voluntary and Open Membership
2. Democratic Member Control
3. Member Economic Participation
4. Autonomy and Independence
5. Education, Training and Information
6. Cooperation among Cooperatives
7. Concern for Community

So, based on these values defined in the inaugural year, 2011, this year for bees and equipment through the Community Hive Collaborative Purchase (CHCP) will be similar to the way it was last year on the surface, but in the inner workings, will be quite different. This year we are fortunate enough to have some incredible members of the community come forward and take on the roles of both CHCP Volunteer Coordinator (Connie Seidle) and as CHCP Project Coordinators (Jayce Naige, Danielle Caruk, and Jeananne Liang) helping us run the CHCP more smoothly this year. These individuals have taken on the major roles as volunteer leaders and will be guiding their own troops of volunteers in completing the tasks necessary in ensuring that not only does the CHCP go off without a hitch this 2012 season, but that the products are cheaper, more diverse, and distributed in an organized and timely manner. Have a look at the 2012 CHCP mandate and details here. This PDF describes how the CHCP functions, the ordinances for participation, as well as other very important details.

Also, this year we are going completely automated in our purchasing. This is to not only make it easier for you, the member (those of you who participated last year were incredibly patient with me, Eliese, in working out the kinks and juggling over 125 participants cheques and money orders!) but it is to take the headache out of accounting and invoicing on our end! Because of these changes, CHCP participation for 2012 and opportunities to pay for your annual Membership fees will not be launched online until the end of January while we organize the computer programming to make it easy for you to get online and benefit from being a CHCP Member!

As mentioned in the December 2011 Newsletter, we are bringing in 75 colonies from Bill Stagg this year for Alberta beekeepers. If you are interested in learning more about Bill Stagg, click here to view the youtube video interview. It reviews his practices, his views on urban beekeeping, diseases, seasonal management, and his overall and inspiring passion for honeybees.  But like last year, there is likely to be more applications for bees then there are honeybees available! So, keep your finger on the pulse, I will be sure to send you information as soon as any relevant information becomes available!

So, between now and then, think of bees snuggled deep in the coming snows, and with them, dream of sunny weather, free flight, and cascading apple blossom petals! Spring is coming faster than you think! Now is the time to prepare!

Last year, Eliese co-ordinated the Collaborative Purchase of Honeybees and Equipment, and this year decided that she could use some help, so here we are! Our community will have access to 75 colonies for 2012, so we need to make the most of it! I would like to briefly introduce myself.  I am going to be working with Eliese to assist her with organizing activities for A.B.C, primarily the Community Hive Collaborative Purchase. I am acting as the Volunteer Coordinator for this project.

You are receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in volunteering for bee-related activities at some point in the past.  Although the bees are resting, it is time for us to start getting organized for the upcoming busy bee season, and make a plan to get bees in your yard!

The following table outlines the main projects relating to the purchase of bees and equipment.  If none of these projects appeals to you, don’t worry, there will be other volunteer opportunities in the future! However, it is important to note that unless an adequate number of volunteers come forward to support this project, Eliese and I will not be able to move forward with organizing the Community Hive Collaborative Purchase. With more than 100 people expected to participate this coming year, it would just be too much to organize. Along with the perks of guaranteeing you the bees and equipment that you so desperately want, you will also join in with a great community of bee-lovers and have a lot of fun leading up to summer bee-months!

I would like to invite you to an organizational meeting to designate coordinators and volunteers for each the exciting positions available for the collaborative purchase.  The date for the meeting is December 11^th, 2011 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Please reply ASAP if you are interested in attending the meeting. Contact me, Connie, at cseidle@shaw.ca

I look forward to meeting with you and solidifying a plan for the Community Hive Collaborative Purchase.

Thank you

Connie Seidle

A.B.C is bringing Kirk Anderson, a.k.a Kirkobeeo, to Alberta in March 2012! With keynote speaking engagements in the works for Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton, you will be able to hear whats happening in urban beekeeping from the metropolis of Los Angeles! Kirk is the founder of Backwards Beekeepers (arguably one of the largest communities of urban beekeepers in North America) and a passionate and innovative caretaker of honeybees!

Kirks Bio

Kirkobeeo started beekeeping in 1970 in Utah. He ordered his first package of bees from the Montgomery Ward catalogue. Since then, he’s had beehives intermittently, but he always “loved those bugs!”

In 1999, Kirk got the bee fever again. Since he now lived in Los Angeles in an apartment with no yard, he had to find a spot for a beehive. He located a nearby community garden and put a beehive in it. He discovered that beekeeping had gotten complicated since he last had beehives. It was expected that all sorts of chemicals and medications had to be put in beehives to handle mites and such. He disagreed with this idea. He knew it was much better to let the bees be bees. He researched beekeeping and found the writings of Charles Martin Simon, who talked about beekeeping backwards and small cell honeycombs. He also found Michael Bush and Dee Lusby, who practiced this same sort of beekeeping. He began handling his hives using these concepts. He had a couple of hives in the community garden, but he needed more room so he could start more hives. He borrowed a bright idea, put up a website and posted that he needed people to “sponsor a beehive” in their backyard. To his surprise, not only did he get sponsors, he also got people who said, “We don’t want to sponsor a hive, we want to become beekeepers!”

He began teaching others small cell, backwards beekeeping. These new beekeepers formed the group Backwards Beekeepers  and started a Backwards Beekeepers Yahoo! group (which now has 650 members). Backwards Beekeepers in the LA area now number in the hundreds. Beekeepers in other parts of the country are also becoming Backwards Beekeepers. Currently, Kirk mentors new beekeepers, tends his 25 beehives and sells chemical-free honey whenever his bees supply it.

About Backwards Beekeepers Los Angeles

We’re a group of organic, treatment-free beekeepers in Los Angeles, with branches now forming in other cities.

We’re “Backwards” because we rely on observation and natural practices to keep our bees thriving rather than pesticides, chemicals, or treatments of any kind.

We’re continually growing as more and more people discover the enjoyment and worth of encouraging our native feral bee population. Our goal is to do right by the bees so that the bees can return the favour.

The Story:

Once upon a time, back in 2008, we (Amy & Russell) were curious about becoming beekeepers. We found Kirk online and scheduled a meeting. It was love at first sight—we connected to his philosophy about letting the bees do their thing…and we were smitten by his sense of humour. We formed the Backwards Beekeepers that day and the 3 of us have been joined by thousands of like-minded people since.  As a club and a community, we advocate for changes in legislation around bees in urban areas, organize swarm captures and removals, and educational events and fundraisers for local beekeeping! We now have hundreds of members and receive over 3,000 swarm calls a year here in LA! We are pretty well organized and work really well as a large team, each member doing their part!

We also offer a wide arange of DIY videos on beekeeping! These are great representations of many different scenarios you will see while beekeeping in an URBAN SPACE!

We have grown outside our LA boarders, with a branch in Brooklyn NY organized by Meg Paska, Tim O`Neal and Sam Comfort! We are really excited to share our vision with other communities outside of Los Angeles and get urban beekeeping communities working together to bring awareness of ethical honeybee management practices!

We would like to invite you to the premier screening of Reel World Youth Documentaries Film Festival!  We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation for your involvement in this project and your willingness to be part of the effort to show that bettering our city can happen in any industry, at any age and from any background.  You have inspired us and have helped mentor our students towards believing that they can make a difference in the world!

The Reel World Youth Documentary Film Festival has been produced by Worldviews Project and Hidden Story and has been sponsored by the Calgary Foundation and Awesome Calgary.  The Film Festival will feature twenty short films created by teams of three guided by teacher Kate McKenzie and videographer Chris Hsiung.  Each of the film topics were chosen by students who interviewed Calgarians, like yourself, who are finding solutions to global issues.  Our goal is to inspire Calgarians towards community engagement and active citizenship through our movies.

We hope you will be able to join us on Dec.1, 2011 at 7:00pm at the Alice Jamieson Girls’ Academy for the premier showing of the films.  If, by chance, you are not able to join us on Dec.1, we are offering a second screening of the best films on Dec.2, 2011 at 12:00pm at the John Dutton Theater in the Downtown Calgary Public Library. Please respond in advance to the email listed below if you are able to make it to the event so that we may add your name to the list of special guests and reserve a seat for you in our VIP seating area.  Please also let us know if you would like to display any promotional materials and we will provide a table for your use.  Thank you for your time and interest!

We are only offering this workshop in Red Deer once and in Calgary twice for the 2012 year, so if you want to take this workshop, register now! The course comes with full snacks and hot lunches (with dietary concerns respected and made primarily with local and organic food) as well as Beekeeping in Western Canada text book ($30 value).  Click here to register!