Tina Sebestyen, founder and former president of the Four Corners Beekeepers Association, is teaching the basics to prospective apiarists in Cortez this week, as part of a three-day course beginning beekeeping class.
Sebestyen, who has been beekeeping herself for 10 years, says the course is a great primer for anyone interested in learning the basics.
The first part of the course will cover beekeeping vocabulary, parts of the hive, what you need to get started and how to feed bees.
The second part focuses on bee behavior, bee dancing, bee communication and hive management.
"We'll also touch on bee disease and how to solve those," said Sebestyen. She said that several second-year beekeepers have signed on for the course.
For those interested in participating in Colorado's Master Beekeeper certification, the Four Corners Beekeepers Association course also serves as a prerequisite to get in, she said.
All in all, the course enables participants to get hands-on training in what can be a complicated craft.
"There are a million books on beekeeping but it's much harder to learn by yourself, and the books are not really so scientific," said Sebestyen. "With this course, you can learn how to help bees survive and not leave on you, ...bees today are facing so many challenges and we really want to help them a little bit, so we focus a lot on how to teach bees to survive."
Courses run April 7, 14, and 21 from 6-8 p.m. at the IFA County Store in Cortez. Cost is $50. For more information, call 970-884-8190 or email auxillary@4cornersbeekeepers.com