Urban Beekeeping for Beginners Workshop

Learn the basics of beekeeping with our home, garden & cooking short courses in Sydney!

Are you a backyard beekeeper, an urban beehive enthusiast, or an amateur who wants to learn more about our precious pollinators? Join us for our Urban Beekeeping for Beginners Workshop hosted on the rooftop of Sydney Community College!

We are proud to contribute to the biodiversity of our local neighbourhood by keeping buzzing beehives on our inner-city rooftop. You too can play your part in your local ecosystem by learning how to keep bees in your own backyard!

Bees from city bee yards are said to be healthier and more productive than their country cousins. Their presence also provides cities with enormous environmental benefits as they pollinate a wide variety of native plants that may otherwise struggle in urban environments - playing an important role in our food supply.

Keeping bees is also a fantastic way to nurture your own garden and grow wonderful fruit and vegetables - as well as another sweet reward: producing your own hyper-local and delicious pure honey!

This unique learning experience offers a rare close-up look at the fascinating life of European honeybees as well as our very own native Australian bees. You will learn the art of responsible backyard and urban beekeeping, including how to make sure your bees are happy and healthy. 

This day-long workshop experience includes an opportunity to don protective gear (provided) and see inside the working hives on our rooftop. You will also take home a copy of fundamental beekeeping book 'BeeAgSkills', published by NSW Primary Industries. Most importantly, you will learn how rewarding it can be to keep bees in your own backyard.                                                        

Learning outcomes

By the end of this beekeeping course, you should be able to:

• Understand safety around the bee yard and the protective equipment available to beekeepers
• Understand the various methods of beekeeping
• Identify the different types of honeybees
• Understand the benefits of different types of beehive
• Successfully locate and manage a beehive 
• Know the beekeeping regulations and registration requirements
• Harvest honey from your very own hive
• Identify various bee pests and diseases.
• Do your part for sustainable agriculture.

Course content

What will be covered in this beekeeping course?

• Why the sudden interest in bees?
• Issues affecting the world bee population - disease, mites and hive deaths
• Native bees
• European honeybees
• Bee biology
• Building healthy colonies, natural beekeeping, commercial beekeeping and urban beekeeping
• What goes on inside a hive
• Hive types - Langstroth, Warre and Kenyan hives - relative productivity and ease of maintenance
• Becoming a "beek" - the regulations and personal commitment
• Getting started and the costs involved
• Healthy bees and how to maintain them
• Bee diseases

Intended audience

Who is this beekeeping course for?

This course is for anyone interested in urban or backyard beekeeping, from beginners to those starting out with their own hives.

Please note: the classroom is accessible, but the rooftop hives are accessed via a narrow staircase (22 steps)

Course venue

Rozelle Campus

2A Gordon Street, Rozelle NSW 2039 (corner of Gordon St & Victoria Rd on the grounds of St. Joseph's Church)

Course materials

If the weather is right, we will visit and open the rooftop hives. A protective jacket, veil and gloves will be provided, but please bring the following items to class:

• Wear long pants that cover your ankles - such as jeans or loose-fitting long pants (please do not wear leggings as these expose your ankles!). Please also wear enclosed shoes and avoid thin clothing, for additional protection. 
• Bring a device or pen & notepad for taking notes

Please note: the classroom is accessible, but the rooftop hives are accessed via a narrow staircase (22 steps)