12 WEEKS OF CAMP BEEZ KNEEZ

Camp Beez Kneez is a 12-week, Hands-on, guided beekeeping course.  There is a lot to learn in one season and it is difficult to learn from just one or two hives.  Join us in one of our teaching apiaries where you will be dedicated a hive for your learning experience while also learning from Professionals with years of experience and up to 10 other hives.

****Email us at info@thebeezkneezdelivery.com to get on the waiting list for 2025 classes***

2024 Locations: Classes will be held at Springbrook Nature Center in Fridley, MN and Trade River Ranch in Grantsburg, WI

Cost: $650 for all 12, 2 hour sessions. Join with 2 others for the same cost=$650 total or $216 per person!-3 people max allowed per hive. Includes instruction, hand outs, smokers and hive tools. You must provide your own protective gear. We rent beekeeping suits at orientation. Contact us for details on a payment plan if you need to space out payments. We will work with you as best we can to accommodate.

Dates and Times: ***bees and outdoor classes are weather dependent so prepared to be flexible if class is rescheduled due to weather. Classes will be held roughly every other week on Sundays.

WHAT FORMER CAMP BEEZ KNEEZER'S HAVE SAID ABOUT THIS COURSE

Just completed Camp Beez Kneez 2017- it was a lot of fun and I learned so much! I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in becoming a beekeeper. I am enjoying the honey we extracted from camp and will probably have to stop by the honey house sometime soon to get more!—Kelly George

Kristy has built an exceptional business and resource for local beekeepers with The Beez Kneez. My husband and I have extracted honey with them in the past and are this year taking part in Camp Beez Kneez to learn more about being successful stewards of honeybees. It is a thoughtful, exciting, and extremely informative experience. Two antennae up for Kristy and Beez Kneez!—-Jenny MJ Lund Nelson

Building a community of beekeepers

We have taught over 200 students with this course since 2015 and are proud of the community of beekeepers we are able to share knowledge with. Beekeeping is not what it used to be. Bees, and therefore beekeepers, are facing many challenges. To be good stewards of the land and healthy ecosystems, we have an obligation to approach bees and beekeeping in a responsible manner. Just like bees, you will work and learn as a group to strengthen your abilities and our growing community of beekeepers. All experience levels welcome and encouraged.

What you will learn

This intensive course covers techniques based on sustainable beekeeping practices for year-round management in colder climates.

  • Each 2hour session follows a beekeeper’s year, and will cover a management topic more in depth.

  • How to choose and/or assemble equipment

  • How to install and work with a new hive in the spring

  • How to split a wintered hive and introduce queens

  • How to make nucs and utilize them in your apiary

  • How to assess colony health, identify nectar flows and pollen sources

  • Spring through fall management techniques for successful overwintering

  • Disease management including integrated pest management-drone comb removal, mite checks, organic treatments and more

  • Harvesting honey and extracting/bottling techniques. *Extraction at the Beez Kneez Honey House using The Beez Kneez “Honey Cycle” pedal-powered extractors!

  • Overwintering your hive

  • Efficient record keeping to aid hive management

****This class meets the education requirement for beekeeping permits in Mpls and St. Paul

Meet your Camp Leader and owner of The Beez Kneez: Kristy Lynn Allen. I have been beekeeping for 16 years. Starting at my families Bar Bell Bee Ranch in Northern, MN, I have worked with and for beekeepers of all sizes from commercial to hobby to bee researchers in the US, Ecuador, and Jamaica. I have grown my operation to 150 hives including urban and rural sites for honey production and education. I am always striving to do my best by the bees and am passionate about sharing that knowledge with beekeepers in my area. I have been teaching kids and adults about bees in some capacity since 2011. I love teaching about bees and beekeeping. My practices are science-based with sustainable beekeeping as the goal which is to not buy bees. I raise my own queens and work with other beekeepers in the area to source winter hardy and mite resistant genetics. I take varroa mites and other disease seriously but try everything in my power to avoid treating with harsh miticides. Utilizing management techniques, bee biology, and integrated pest management. I look forward to bee-ing a part of your beekeeping journey.-Kristy Lynn