If you applied for this experience prior to the 2022 floods please reapply as we didn't retain the new applications details due to not knowing if we were going to continue with this program after recovering from the floods.
Beekeeping Experience
Experience a Day of Commercial Beekeeping
Beekeeping is a lot of fun yet it's also hard work.
At a commercial scale we must still inspect and manage our beehives correctly to ensure happy and healthy bees.
Our experience program allows members of the public to experience commercial beekeeping lead by our head apiarist who has hundreds of hours of beekeeping experience.
The work done on the day may entail inspecting hives, or harvesting honey, or packing hives down or other beekeeping tasks.
We guide you on how to preform the days task and then you are able to repeat the task throughout more hives as we work together to get the task finished.
Experiencing beekeeping at this larger scale helps build confidence in handling bees on smaller scales.
Experience Conditions
Below are some of the conditions we operate under to ensure the health and safety of all attendees.
Please be aware we're out in locations far from facilities so if you're not comfortable with the below then unfortunately we cannot take you on a beekeeping experience.
* Participants need to be 18 years old or older.
* Private group sizes of 1-3 participants.
* If you know you have anaphylaxis from bee stings please do not apply. Yes we do carry EpiPens however we cannot guarantee you will not receive a bee sting, or more, so it's best not to have you in harms way.
* When working bees there is always a chance of being stung, even when wearing protective equipment. All participants must wear the supplied protective equipment.
Beesuit with veil and leather gloves.
* Participants should wear work boots or gum boots (preferably steel capped) that come up above ankle height.
* Our apiaries are in rural Victoria and away from facilities. We are on apiary sites for a full day doing our tasks yet there are no public toilet facilities. This means going behind a tree or digging a hole is necessity should you need to go to the toilet.
* If you eat lunch you will need to bring food suitable to your dietary needs. We always have water available. No alcohol or non-proscribed drugs can be consumed during the experience.
* Bee Suits can get very hot when you're in them for a full day, even the ventilated bee suits we mostly use.
Wear layers if unsure for best comfort as layers can be removed throughout the day if required.
As a guide:
1. Temperatures of 10 - 16 degrees Celsius ---
Wear regular clothing such as jeans and a t-shirt or light coat under the beesuit.
2. Temperatures of 17 - 21 degrees Celsius ---
Wear light clothing such as jeans and a light shirt or top
3. Temperatures of 22 plus degrees Celsius ---
Wear as little as possible or try summer clothing such as shorts and sleeveless top
Cost
We do not charge for this experience.
Everyone who attends joins in the fun on a fully voluntary basis.
Please let us know if you'd like a one day or multi-day experience.