One of our favorite club activities is recruiting new beekeepers. You can join the hive by completing an HCBA membership form and mail it to Haywood County Bee Club, PO Box 1391, Clyde, NC 28721, along with a check for the amount indicated on the application. Better yet, print out the membership form and bring it to one of our monthly meetings!
Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Haywood County Extension Center. Guests are always welcome to come and enjoy the buzzing activity, because we care about sharing beekeeping knowledge with each other, and our community.
If you need a new colony of friends and beekeepers, then HCBA invites you to join this colony. We are always ready to expand the apiary, so the club can pollinate the community with new beekeepers.
Sharing Knowledge about Honey Bees…
As beekeepers, we understand the impact that bees have on the environment and within our society, because honey bees pollinate crops that are responsible for one out of every three bites of food that people consume. From a national perspective, this represents a fruit, vegetable, and crop industry totaling more than $14 billion dollars that allows local communities to grow food. Additionally, honeybees pollinate many plants in the natural landscape, And, there is always lots of honey to go around. Below are a few of the annual activities and services that the Haywood County Beekeepers Association provides to its members and the community.
In cooperation with the Haywood County Extension Center, the club hosts a Beginning Beekeeping School, usually beginning in January or February. This course teaches the basic of getting started as a beekeeper. In April, at the request of area beekeepers, a bee NC state inspector will visit your bee apiary to address any bee concerns. Reminder… you must have “live bees” for this inspection to occur. These inspections are arranged in cooperation with the Haywood County Cooperative Extension service and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.
The club participates in many of the local seasonal festivals where volunteers share their knowledge of the honey bee with the use of an observation hive and educational materials. On school days, you can find our willing beekeeper volunteers at some of the local fairs displaying educational bee materials and answering questions by interested visitors. An experienced club member will gladly assist you in removing a swarm of unwelcome bees from your property, contact one of our swarm removal members.
November meeting at the Lodge
Checking the moisture content of honey with a refractometer.
