If you are interested in signing up for any of these classes, please call the store at 415-744-1465 to sign up via credit card or come in person to pay via cash.  All classes have a maximum of 15 students, so seating is very limited.  Payment must be made in advance online.  All classes are held at the store at 3520 20th Street, San Francisco unless the class takes place “in the field”.  No refunds, exchanges, or rescheduling is possible.

Registration is required.  We need to prepare chairs and learning materials in advance, so no walk-ins, please! 

                                                          

Inside the Honeybee Colony - How it works- $30    Enroll Online

Thursday, March 13th, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2 hours: Urban beekeeping will be sustainable if we are good stewards of the bees we keep, and we manage our bees so they and our neighbors live in harmony with one another.  In this class, you will learn basic information necessary to become a good honey bee steward and a responsible urban beekeeper.  You will learn about the roles of the queen, the workers and drones and how they function together during their individual life-cycles as a super-organism, “the colony.”  You also will learn how that super-organism functions and changes during the various seasons we experience locally.

Beginning Beekeeping- $30    Enroll Online

Saturday, March 13th, 9:00 AM - 11:30AM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2.5 hours: What you need to know about SF Beekeeping (But didn’t know who to ask).  If you ever thought you might want to take up beekeeping, but do not know what would be involved, this 2.5-hour class is for you.  Subjects we will cover include applicable SF and CA laws, cost$, time commitment, equipment options, and what other practicalities you need to consider if you are to fulfill responsibilities to yourself, others in your household and building, neighbors, nearby community and, importantly, the honeybees you would keep.  

Those who wish to further explore the possibility of taking up beekeeping are encouraged to take “Inside the honeybee colony”. 

Going into the Hive: How to Inspect a Honeybee Colony - $40    Enroll Online

Sunday, March 14th, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2 hours: In this field class, limited to 6 participants per session, we will open and inspect two honey bee colonies. You will see the queen, workers and drones, as well as developing larvae, stored pollen, nectar and honey, and how the colony is arranging the contents of the hive during Spring. You will learn techniques for testing the demeanor of the colony, how to light and use a smoker, how to properly use a hive tool and inspect the contents of a hive. Each participant will have the opportunity to personally remove, examine and return a frame of bees to a hive.

Participant must provide and wear their own protective clothing, and sign a waiver and assumption of risks agreement. To participate, minors must be accompanied by a participating parent or legal guardian.

Going into the Hive: How to Inspect a Honeybee Colony - $40    Enroll Online

Saturday, March 27th, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2 hours: In this field class, limited to 6 participants per session, we will open and inspect two honey bee colonies. You will see the queen, workers and drones, as well as developing larvae, stored pollen, nectar and honey, and how the colony is arranging the contents of the hive during Spring. You will learn techniques for testing the demeanor of the colony, how to light and use a smoker, how to properly use a hive tool and inspect the contents of a hive. Each participant will have the opportunity to personally remove, examine and return a frame of bees to a hive.

Participant must provide and wear their own protective clothing, and sign a waiver and assumption of risks agreement. To participate, minors must be accompanied by a participating parent or legal guardian.

Beginning Beekeeping- $30    Enroll Online

Sunday, March 28th, 9:00 AM - 11:30AM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2.5 hours: What you need to know about SF Beekeeping (But didn’t know who to ask).  If you ever thought you might want to take up beekeeping, but do not know what would be involved, this 2.5-hour class is for you.  Subjects we will cover include applicable SF and CA laws, cost$, time commitment, equipment options, and what other practicalities you need to consider if you are to fulfill responsibilities to yourself, others in your household and building, neighbors, nearby community and, importantly, the honeybees you would keep.  

Those who wish to further explore the possibility of taking up beekeeping are encouraged to take “Inside the honeybee colony”. 

Inside the Honeybee Colony - How it works- $30    Enroll Online

Wednesday, March 31th, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2 hours: Urban beekeeping will be sustainable if we are good stewards of the bees we keep, and we manage our bees so they and our neighbors live in harmony with one another.  In this class, you will learn basic information necessary to become a good honey bee steward and a responsible urban beekeeper.  You will learn about the roles of the queen, the workers and drones and how they function together during their individual life-cycles as a super-organism, “the colony.”  You also will learn how that super-organism functions and changes during the various seasons we experience locally.

San Francisco Beekeeping Meetup! February Meetup - FREE  Signup here

Wednesday, April 7th, 7:00 PM - 8:00PM

Borderlands Cafe,  870 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110

Hosted by Cameo Wood
Our group has gotten too big for the store, so we'll be moving to a cafe one block away - Borderlands Cafe. They have light snacks, coffee, tea, and treats! We'll be meeting in the back, and I'll have a nametag

This month we'll be talking about our first beehives!

In the next few months, first time beekeepers will start to purchase equipment, look for places to keep their hives, and receive their bee packages. Other beekeepers will find that their hives are going to start getting more active, and will start to swarm. Let's talk about both of these issues, and then have time to chat with each other, and maybe organize a few hive-tours for next month!

And as always, If you are a beekeeper, bring your own honey in. If you just love honey and have something unusual, bring it by to share.

--

SF Beeks is an informal gathering of beekeepers of all abilities--if you're interested in bees, you're invited. A beek is an affectionate name for a "beekeeping geek" - so come beek out with us! You can meet other beeks; maybe find a beekeeping buddy, ask about how to start beekeeping, share cool research projects you might be working on, ask a pollination garden question, share beekeeping stories; the sky is the limit. It's low key and it's fun. This is a chance to get some of us together, have a drink, and talk some bees!

Installing your packaged bees & the first month - $25    Enroll Online

Saturday, April 10th, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Taught by Karen Peteros
1.5 hours: In this field class, we will demonstrate methods for installing a package of bees. We will discuss equipment to have on hand and how to use it. We will discuss and demonstrate how to get all of the contents of your package into your hive, including: removing the can of feed and queen cage without all the bees flying out, how to properly install the queen cage and get the 3 lbs of bees (approx 10,000 bees) into the hive. We will discuss feeding the newly-installed bees, inspecting for queen release and acceptance, what to good signs to look for, what problems might arise and how you can remedy them.

Going into the Hive: How to Inspect a Honeybee Colony - $40    Enroll Online

Saturday, April 10th, 12:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2 hours: In this field class, limited to 6 participants per session, we will open and inspect two honey bee colonies. You will see the queen, workers and drones, as well as developing larvae, stored pollen, nectar and honey, and how the colony is arranging the contents of the hive during Spring. You will learn techniques for testing the demeanor of the colony, how to light and use a smoker, how to properly use a hive tool and inspect the contents of a hive. Each participant will have the opportunity to personally remove, examine and return a frame of bees to a hive.

Participant must provide and wear their own protective clothing, and sign a waiver and assumption of risks agreement. To participate, minors must be accompanied by a participating parent or legal guardian.

Beginning Beekeeping- $30    Enroll Online

Sunday, April 11th, 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2.5 hours: What you need to know about SF Beekeeping (But didn’t know who to ask).  If you ever thought you might want to take up beekeeping, but do not know what would be involved, this 2.5-hour class is for you.  Subjects we will cover include applicable SF and CA laws, cost$, time commitment, equipment options, and what other practicalities you need to consider if you are to fulfill responsibilities to yourself, others in your household and building, neighbors, nearby community and, importantly, the honeybees you would keep.  

Those who wish to further explore the possibility of taking up beekeeping are encouraged to take “Inside the honeybee colony”. 

Installing your packaged bees & the first month - $25    Enroll Online

Sunday, April 11th, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Taught by Karen Peteros
1.5 hours: In this field class, we will demonstrate methods for installing a package of bees. We will discuss equipment to have on hand and how to use it. We will discuss and demonstrate how to get all of the contents of your package into your hive, including: removing the can of feed and queen cage without all the bees flying out, how to properly install the queen cage and get the 3 lbs of bees (approx 10,000 bees) into the hive. We will discuss feeding the newly-installed bees, inspecting for queen release and acceptance, what to good signs to look for, what problems might arise and how you can remedy them.

Inside the Honeybee Colony - How it works- $30    Enroll Online

Wednesday, April 14th, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2 hours: Urban beekeeping will be sustainable if we are good stewards of the bees we keep, and we manage our bees so they and our neighbors live in harmony with one another.  In this class, you will learn basic information necessary to become a good honey bee steward and a responsible urban beekeeper.  You will learn about the roles of the queen, the workers and drones and how they function together during their individual life-cycles as a super-organism, “the colony.”  You also will learn how that super-organism functions and changes during the various seasons we experience locally.

Beginning Beekeeping- $30    Enroll Online

Saturday, April 24th, 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2.5 hours: What you need to know about SF Beekeeping (But didn’t know who to ask).  If you ever thought you might want to take up beekeeping, but do not know what would be involved, this 2.5-hour class is for you.  Subjects we will cover include applicable SF and CA laws, cost$, time commitment, equipment options, and what other practicalities you need to consider if you are to fulfill responsibilities to yourself, others in your household and building, neighbors, nearby community and, importantly, the honeybees you would keep.  

Those who wish to further explore the possibility of taking up beekeeping are encouraged to take “Inside the honeybee colony”. 

Inside the Honeybee Colony - How it works- $30    Enroll Online

Thursday, April 29th, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Taught by Karen Peteros
2 hours: Urban beekeeping will be sustainable if we are good stewards of the bees we keep, and we manage our bees so they and our neighbors live in harmony with one another.  In this class, you will learn basic information necessary to become a good honey bee steward and a responsible urban beekeeper.  You will learn about the roles of the queen, the workers and drones and how they function together during their individual life-cycles as a super-organism, “the colony.”  You also will learn how that super-organism functions and changes during the various seasons we experience locally.

About the Instructors:

K.Ruby Blume is an educator, gardener, beekeeper, artist, performer, bodyworker and activist with 10+ years urban beekeeping and 20+ years urban gardening experience.  She has studied permaculture, botany, pollination ecology, entomology, massage, sexology and coaching  as well as teaching herself cooking, canning and fermentation techniques. Ruby knows how to set tile, install a sink, do electrical wiring, fire a kiln, sew a dress, crochet a hat, tend a beehive and repair a motorcycle.  She has taught gardening, beekeeping, puppetry, mosaic, massage, stilt-walking and more to people age five to ninety-five. Ruby has a permaculture design certificate from OAEC and  currently runs the Institute of Urban Homesteading in Oakland California,  a small school offering affordable classes in urban sustainability.   She is excited to be teaching here in the Mission District, where she started her first urban garden over 20 years ago.  www.sparkybeegirl.com/iuh.html

Arno Boer likes to kid around a lot, and a lot of kids like to be around Arno. Arno has been playing intently with children of all ages in various professional settings for the last 6 years. He is skilled at creating a harmonious rapport with children and has developed a style of educational entertainment that engages every child in their own way. 

Jeremy Bornstein is a consumer of new hobbies, soap-making being the most recent in a long list of sometimes impractical, sometimes dangerous, and sometimes merely annoying activities.

Karen Peteros has been beekeeping for four years, simultaneously in various SF neighborhoods, in Oakland and in Southern Oregon.  During her beekeeping tenure, she has managed as many as 35 of her own colonies, she has raised some of her own queens and she develops nucleus colonies for sale.  Apart from her part-time work as an attorney, she has taught beekeeping classes in SF and in Oregon, and was the 2009 President of the San Francisco Beekeepers Association (SFBA).  As a SFBA member she has regularly mentored new and beginning SF beekeepers.

Carrie Redfern can almost always be found using her hands in some crafty way. Some of her practical passions are candle making and herbalism. She has made and enjoyed all manner of beeswax candles for many years. Carrie is primarily a self-taught crafter, but has also been guided by a few wonderful teachers, and was educated in Western Herbalism at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, and Clinical Herbalism at the California School of Herbal Studies. Her herbal explorations revolve primarily around herb cultivation and medicine making with a focus on body care products. You will find some of Carrie's creations at Her Majesty's Secret Beekeeper.