Closeup of bees on honeycomb.

Mackay, Queensland

Natural Beekeeping WorkshopA Two Day Course for Beginners

23rd & 24th April

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23rd & 24th April

Saturday & Sunday
9:30am to 4.00pm each day
$470
One time payment
Bookings Closed.
See upcoming classes & courses
Limited to 20 people
Beekeeper, Adrian Iodice, is holding up a Kenyan top bar hive frame of honeycomb, showing five class participants a piece of honeycomb covered in bees.
Natural Beekeeper, Adrian Iodice, with open hands towards a Kenyan Top Bar Hive. He is explaining the positioning of the hive.
A close-up shot shows numerous bees crawling on a section of golden honeycomb.
A close-up shot shows numerous bees crawling on a section of golden honeycomb.
Six adult course participants, standing behind two newly built Kenyan Top Bar Hives.
A close up view of several bees, clustered on a piece of honeycomb inside a Kenyan Top Bar Hive.
Beekeeper, Adrian Iodice, is carefully inspecting a frame of honeycomb covered with bees inside a wooden Kenyan Top Bar Hive.
Two fair-skinned hands are carefully lifting a frame of golden honeycomb densely covered with dark bees out of a light-colored wooden Kenyan Top Bar Hive. The hive is open, revealing multiple top bars and another frame of honeycomb with bees below. The setting is outdoors in a sunny environment with blurred green foliage in the background. The focus is on the delicate process of inspecting the bee colony and their honeycomb within this type of natural beehive. The bees appear to be Western honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Start your beekeeping journey with expert guidance.

Master the basics of natural and sustainable beekeeping.

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the principles of natural beekeeping. Adrian’s expert instruction will help you understand the crucial aspects of bee development and hive management, ensuring you can create a thriving, healthy hive while supporting broader ecological sustainability and bee health.

enrol now
A selection of various Kenyan top bar Hive images framed inside honeycomb shapes. Some are close-ups and some are images of Adrian teaching beekeeping courses.

Start your beekeeping journey with expert guidance.

Master the basics of natural and sustainable beekeeping.

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the principles of natural beekeeping. Adrian’s expert instruction will help you understand the crucial aspects of bee development and hive management, ensuring you can create a thriving, healthy hive while supporting broader ecological sustainability and bee health.

enrol now

This course is for you if:

  • You are a beginner eager to learn the basics of beekeeping.

  • You have prior experience and wish to enhance your skills with organic methods.

  • You wish to appreciate the miraculous lives of honey bees.

  • You want to support bee health and environmental sustainability through beekeeping.

  • If you live in Mackay, Sarina, Walkerston, Eton, Seaforth, Mirani, or the surrounding area

Adrian Iodice is holding up a top bar with honeycomb covered in bees. Students close by are leaning in to see.
Adrian Iodice is holding up a top bar with honeycomb covered in bees. Students close by are leaning in to see.

Discover

  • The stages of honey bee development and their significance in hive life.

  • The benefits of using natural honeycomb in your hives.

  • Detailed steps on how to catch a swarm and the essential tools.

  • Where to place your hive for optimal productivity.

  • The therapeutic products from honey bees like honey and propolis.

  • Kenyan top bar hive management strategies for natural beekeeping.

A detailed close-up shows a single Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) with a light brown and black striped abdomen, delicate translucent wings, and fuzzy thorax. It is positioned on a section of golden-brown honeycomb, with its head and front legs inside one of the hexagonal cells. The background is softly blurred.
A detailed close-up shows a single Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) with a light brown and black striped abdomen, delicate translucent wings, and fuzzy thorax. It is positioned on a section of golden-brown honeycomb, with its head and front legs inside one of the hexagonal cells. The background is softly blurred.

What’s included?

  • Full set of course documentation

  • A look inside a working Kenyan top bar hive in the Mackay area.

  • DIY plans for your own Kenyan Top Bar Hive

  • Recommended beekeeping literature, websites, and educational films

  • Tea breaks with homemade bread, butter, and raw honey

Adrian Iodice is pictured, carefully opening a wooden Kenyan Top Bar Hive. Bees are visible inside the hive and flying around the entrance. Adrian is preparing to inspect the hive.
Adrian Iodice is pictured, carefully opening a wooden Kenyan Top Bar Hive. Bees are visible inside the hive and flying around the entrance. Adrian is preparing to inspect the hive.
Was an awesome beekeeping course and learnt so much.

Meet the facililtator

Photo of Adrian Iodice smiling at camera.

Bees have such a beautiful nature; it doesn’t take much to fall in love with them.

~ Adrian Iodice

Adrian Iodice

Adrian Iodice has a deep passion for natural sustainable bee care. He started beekeeping with standard conventional Langstroth hives and since 2010, he began experimenting with and studying various hive designs.

Adrian is one of the pioneers of the ‘Natural beekeeping’ movement in Australia. In 2012 he studied biodynamic beekeeping at ‘Mellifera Centre for Organic Beekeeping’ in Rosenfeld, southern Germany. He has come to the conclusion that the ‘Kenyan top bar hive’ is the better hive suited to his needs and he feels that every ‘backyard beekeeper’ should truly consider the hive design they will eventually use for the wellbeing of their bees.

He teaches natural, sustainable beekeeping workshops all over Australia.

The venue

Course Outline

In this course on backyard beekeeping, you’ll start with Adrian Iodice’s personal journey and the sacred nature of bees, understanding the spiritual connection with bees and their vital role in nature.

Emphasizing natural beekeeping practices, this course covers sustainability, harmony with the environment, and the health of the bees. You’ll learn about various bee products, including honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom, and wax, explaining their uses and benefits.

The course then explores bee biology and behavior, focusing on worker bees, drones, and queens, as well as swarming. You’ll learn how to manage queens and swarms, catch a swarm, and install it into a hive, with a holistic beekeeping approach.

A key part of the course is the Kenyan Topbar Hive, where you’ll learn its history, setup, components, placement, and management. You’ll inspect a Kenyan Topbar Hive for hands-on experience and learn how to transfer bees from a Langstroth hive to a Kenyan Topbar Hive, promoting sustainable practices.

Practical aspects of beekeeping are covered, focusing on essential tools and safety measures. You’ll learn to harvest and process honeycomb and wax efficiently, ensuring you’re prepared to manage your hive sustainably.

Lastly, the course addresses common pests and diseases like Varroa mites, American foulbrood, and small hive beetle. By understanding these challenges, you’ll be better equipped to maintain a healthy bee colony.

This comprehensive outline ensures you gain a thorough understanding of natural beekeeping practices, fostering a deeper connection with your bees and promoting a sustainable and healthy environment.

FAQs

Awesome course - I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in bees or and nature. Thanks Adrian for the fun and very informative training. Adrian generously answered all our questions, and shared a great deal of his extensive Bee knowledge - the Training offered the most you could possibly squeeze out of 2 days. The Training notes, resource list and Kenyan Bee Hive build instructions are a great help.  It was a wonderful 2 days, I would recommend to anyone interested in bees and the environment full stop. I look forward to starting a hive, and sharing my journey with the group who attended my course.

Mackay, Queensland

Natural Beekeeping WorkshopA Two Day Course for Beginners

23rd & 24th April

Read More

23rd & 24th April

Saturday & Sunday
9:30am to 4.00pm each day
$470
One time payment
Bookings Closed.
See upcoming classes & courses
Limited to 20 people

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