Honey bees are fascinating! We geek out on the details of bees and beekeeping and are excited to share what we know with our community. We offer a 6-week apprentice level beekeeping course twice a year and try to be available to give Beekeeping 101 presentations to community groups upon request.

Beginning Beekeeping Class

The purpose of the Beginning Beekeeping Class is to introduce people to the basics of what it means to be a hobbyist beekeeper before they decide to invest time, energy and money in setting up an apiary.

This class will take about 2 hours, depending on the turnout and amount of questions.

The next session is likely to be in December or January, 11am to 1pm, at the Swantown Inn Grand Victorian Ballroom. There is no cost to this class.

Apprentice Level Course

If you are somewhat new to beekeeping, want to start beekeeping, or want to refresh your knowledge and skills about beekeeping, the apprentice level course is for you!

This course is six 2-hour classes, held weekly and in-person. We will schedule a hands-on beekeeping session at the OBA apiary during one of the classes. 

The fall Apprentice Level Course is Saturdays from 10am to 12pm starting September 28, 2024 and going through November 2, 2024. Classes are in-person at the Swantown Inn Grand Victorian Ballroom. One class will be held at the club apiary at the Freedom Farmers.

Course registration

The course fee is $50 and you must be a current member in the Olympia Beekeepers Association to register (Membership is $25 per household). The course fee includes receiving your certificate on successful completion of the course. Log on to your membership. Then click the button and pay for your registration.

If there are multiple people in a family wanting to be certified there is an additional admin fee of $25 ($10 for the certificate, $15 for the class fee = $25). Multiple people from a family are welcome to sit in on a class (our association membership covers a household with the right for one vote), but the fee structure only covers one person being certified.

To register for the class you must be a member, be logged in, and then click on this button.

Beekeeping 101 Presentations

To request an association member volunteer to come and give a Beekeeping 101 presentation to your group, please reach out to our Outreach Coordinator at outreach@olympiabeekeepers.org.