School For Weston Beekeepers Preps For Its Busy Season

WESTON, CT — Beekeeping as a hobby, along with raising chickens and gardening, has boomed during the pandemic.

It's all part of a "new homesteading mentality" brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Leslie Huston, a past president of the Redding Ridge-based Backyard Beekeepers Association.

Huston was an avid gardener who fell into beekeeping 20 years ago, and fell in love with the little buggers.

"The bees are a never ending source of fascination! They're so clever, interesting and I just love spending time with them!" she told Patch.

Bees are a strong contributor to healthy, sustainable local ecosystems, Huston said, and neighborhood beekeepers have become vital as pollinator pathways are being steamrolled into pavement.

Then there's all that honey. According to industry news website Hobby Farms, beekeepers in their sophomore year can rake in as much as 100 pounds of the sweet stuff annually, "depending on region, availability of nectar sources and weather."

The BYBA will be holding classes, both online and at the Nortfield Grange at 12 Goodhill Road in Weston, on four Monday evenings in January for those looking to get started with their own hives. The classes cover everything about the popular hobby, including finding bees, installing them on your property, inspecting them, harvesting honey, to keeping them healthy and getting them ready for winter.

That's a lot of material to cover in a short period of time, so the club has started a mentor program that matches new beekeepers with older hands who live nearby, to keep the learning on track in February and beyond. The 350-member BYBA operates several apiaries in the Easton/Weston area where members can suit up like astronauts and get busy.

More information on the Bee School and a link to sign up is online here.