NCW Beekeepers Meeting
May 22, 2016
Calendar
June 9 Bee chat, Louie’s (Leavenworth), 6 p.m.
June 26 Business/Education meeting, PUD auditorium, 5 p.m.
July 9 Seminar, PUD Auditorium, times TBA
Reports
Minutes of last meeting were approved.
Treasurer: Checking account $2494.72 with cost of banner and Leavenworth farmers market
registration anticipated; education/outreach account $1652.91 with $900 for registration
fees for WSU course anticipated; July seminar expected to cost $6-700.
Old Business
July seminar: plan to start early afternoon; probable topics genetics, hive inspection, and
something from Douglas county extension; potluck to follow
Leavenworth farmers market dates are June 23, July 14, August 4 and August 28; some
members needed for outreach; setup about 3 or 3:30, stay until 8 p.m.;can sell honey –
get it to Steve ahead of time
Banner: A cellphone photo of proposed banner was circulated.
Website and hive inspection form: no progress to report
New Business
Fair planning: Boswell building was inspected and space we prefer identified
Chelan beekeeping ordinance: Kriss is communicating with a council member
Apiary visits discussed; Kristin (rural, Peshastin) and Daryn (urban, Wenatchee) volunteered
to host with dates to be determined.
Noted that local availability of beekeeping equipment has increased. Costco kit includes full hive, jacket, gloves, etc. Coastal carrying more general equipment including unfinished hives.
Peter continues working to establish apiary as part of WSU/Master Gardener demonstration area.
Noted that orchardists occasionally have failure of commercial beekeepers to provide bees timely as promised, which is a financial disaster. It was agreed that the Club might be able to provide bees from a future demo apiary or connect club members with orchardists for small scale needs. This would require contract protecting bees from harmful spray as well as considering possible liabilities.
Additions and corrections cheerfully accepted.
Alice Crawford
May 2 Journeymen, WokAbout Grill, 6 p.m.
May 12 Bee chat, Milepost 111, 6 p.m.
May 22 New beekeeper hour, Cashmere Fairground, Boswell Bldg., 4 p.m.
May 22 Business/Education meeting, Fairground, Boswell Bldg., 5 p.m.
June 26 Business/Education meeting, Wenatchee PUD Auditorium, 5 p.m.
Treasurer: Savings/outreach $1582.65 with $900 committed for Pullman course fees + about
$800 for July seminar; checking account $2450.72 Suggestion: support FFA/4H bee programs, start local queen-rearing program
Membership now 104
74 packages, 65 nucs + Susan Curtis ordered/delivered this spring
Leavenworth farmers market would like to have beekeepers sell honey there. It was agreed to do so once a month. Steve will coordinate. Beekeepers are to bring honey packaged for sale and appropriately labelled, with prices and business cards to the biz/ed meeting prior. At least one beekeeper will need to run the booth (setup, staff, cleanup) from 4-8pm on a Thursday. First time probably first market in June. $60 approved for table fee for 4 market appearances.
Extractor now with Alice. Rental for 2-3 days $25 + $100 damage deposit. Broken lid reported; Steve and Daryn to explore repair.
Earth day events at Chelan and Leavenworth reported successful. New canopy weights by Wayne!!
Website: Problems navigating present site reported; this may mainly need updating/”tinkering.” Steve and officers exploring alternative systems. Wide gradation of computer proficiency among members is apparent and will need to be accommodated with any new system.
Banner/s for our booth discussed. Wayne will arrange for banner for display inside booth.
Possibility of screening directly onto front of canopy to be explored; Katrina may have alternative. $200 approved to cover both.
Common hive record system was considered. Steve, Debra and Stan will explore a mechanism to be simple enough to bring enough data together in a reasonable way. May be paper, may be online, etc.
Upcoming Events:
March 25th: Deadline for ordering packages and nucs
April 4th: Journeyman meeting for tests #3-5, Wok About Grill, 6pm.
April 14th: Bee Chat at South in Pybus Market, 6pm
April 16th: Chelan Earth Day, all day, Wayne Ranne to coordinate. A few more helpers would be welcome!
April 24th: Leavenworth Earth Day, noon to 4 p.m., Lions Park, Deborah Stansbury to coordinate, more details to come via email
Mid April – Probable date for bee package delivery
May 12th: Tentative Bee Chat at Milepost 111 in Cashmere, 6pm
June 17-18th: WSU beekeeping short course in Pullman, WA
June 19th: WSU queen rearing course in Pullman, WA
July 9th: Bee/pollinator seminar led by WSU graduate students, location Chelan County PUD Auditorium in Wenatchee
The meeting started with a presentation from the Wenatchee High School FFA “Issues” team. They are exploring issues around urban beekeeping and need to give some presentations of many sides of the issues to various community groups this year. After their presentation, we had some Q&A with the panel.
We approved last month’s minutes as written/posted. Motion by Mike Schenck, second by Bryan Keppler, unanimous approval.
The treasurer report listed the following current accounts and expenses:
Savings Account: $1582.28
Checking Account: $2456.29
Left to deposit: $312
Feb. 21 Beecome 16 . . . . $254 for Alix Whitener
March 1 Secretary of State $30 We are now a non-profit
March 1 Commercial Printing $37.98 for 10 Apprentice Booklets
March 2 Commercial Printing $47.64 for 250 Swarm Postcards
March 5 Amazon – Bee Books $170
March 6 Full body mannequin $55
March 6 Chelan Earth Day Booth $15
March 10 WASBA membership $91
Additional for about $70 to pay for some of the mead class supplies, and $50 for stamps, copies, and other business expenses.
Many thanks to Janice Ranne for some delightful snacks this month!
Old Business:
There was a brief reminder to get paperwork in for package/nuc orders ASAP. Deadline is the 25th, and supplies may be limited. Providers are running low on bees, but there are still some available for our club. We have around 100 packages/nucs ordered so far.
There was also a brief reminder to register your hives with the state Dept of Ag. That registration deadline is coming up quickly. Funds generated go to WSU for nosema research.
The apprentice class is now complete, and had about 16 students work through the class. There is a good group of new beekeepers in the club, so be sure to introduce yourself to them.
The July 9th seminar day is gathering some structure. Alix is the one organizing it from the WSU side. Looks like some students will take a van out from WSU for the weekend. The PUD auditorium is reserved for setup on the 8th and all day on the 9th. There will be a pot luck afterwards. The event will be open to the public, and likely free of charge thanks to our education/outreach funds. If you are interested in helping, Alix and Kriss could use a few folks to help with planning, setup, and cleanup.
Peter Hill reported additional consideration of coordinating with the WSU Tree Fruit Research Center in many ways. With some similar goals between the club and WSU, there may be some opportunities for a more permanent demonstration apiary, instruction, equipment storage, public outreach, Master Gardeners interaction, etc. Peter and a few others will continue to push forward to figure out where the club and WSU can work together in the future. If you are interested in helping, contact Peter.
New Business:
Steve Olsen agreed to coordinate a new beekeeper hour of Q&A and maybe some general topics. Details of how/when this will work will follow as we coordinate with the Journeyman group and new beekeepers.
Leavenworth Farmers Market is looking to have the NCWBA staff a booth and/or sell honey at some of their 2016 markets (Thursday nights, 4-8pm). Some members of the club expressed interest in staffing a booth and selling their individual jars of honey. We will need to has out some of the details with the market staff before it starts in June. Steve Foley will be taking point on this, so contact him if you are interested in being involved.
The officers of the club have been kicking around the idea of leveraging some online website services to bring the club management into one place. Member lists, emails, web information, forums, documentation, etc. are currently spread out in many systems. Growth in the club is straining the processes from a few years ago, and the officers would like to see the club be easier to manage and easier for the members to interact with it and each other online as desired. There seemed significant interest among the membership in having the officers test out some systems and present a potential solution at a future meeting. Cost for web services would likely be in the $20/mo range, but hasnt been determined solidly yet.
For the good of the order:
Wayne Ranne gave a brief recap of the WSBA-announced webinar with Dr Mark Winston hosted online by the Mount Baker Beekeepers Association on March 16th.
Wayne expressed thanks to Steve Olsen, Beth Hammerberg, and the Schencks for making the bulk equipment order of over $3000 and 1800 lbs happen so smoothly. They are all very happy with the quality and price of what we received. There are loose plans to make another order in the fall, so keep track of what you might want throughout the season, and we can organize again later in the year.
Steve Foley
3-10 Bee Chat: Last one at Bob’s was successful, but Bob’s prefers Wednesday to Thursday. Place for March to be determined and communicated on email. 6 p.m.
Journeyman group make-up session will meet after Chat.
3-20 Business/Education meeting at PUD at 5 p.m.
3-5, 12 & 19 Apprentice class, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Leavenworth PUD A few places still available
3-25 Deadline for ordering packages and nucs
3-11, 12 & 13 Beecome 2016, major European meeting. NCWBees funding registration for Alix Whitener, who is already in Sweden, and will present information to us at a later meeting.
7-9 Bee/pollinator seminar led by WSU graduate students, location TBA
4-16 Chelan Earth Day, all day, Wayne Ranne to coordinate
4-24 Leavenworth Earth Day, noon to 4 p.m., Lions Park, Deborah Stansbury to coordinate
Introductions of members present and report of hive survival/loss. It appears there has been major loss this winter.
A poll of survival compared to source (Charles vs. Ruben vs. Sunrise) and type (package vs. nuc) showed no apparent pattern. Varoa treatment appears to have been helpful. The possibility that insecticide on nursery plants may have been damaging was considered unlikely.
Treasurer’s Report Balance in general fund is still approximate as dues are still coming in but is about $2000. The education/outreach fund had about $800 remaining. Columbia Marketing contributed another $1000. This will fund three going to the WSU program, about $200 worth of books, and some equipment for our high school student. Preparation of a “honey basket” for Columbia Marketing was approved.
Reminder to register hives with the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
Kris reported that paperwork has been submitted to register NCWBees as a non-profit organization. Cost is $30 first year, $10 per year thereafter with renewal due March 1 (after election of officers for the year).
Peter Hill reported preliminary consideration of developing a demonstration apiary, possibly as part of the WSU campus, possibly in cooperation with WSU Master Gardeners. Any interested in pursuing this should contact Peter, Daryn or Kris.
NCW Beekeepers Meeting January 24, 2016
Coming Events & Deadlines
Meeting Items:
Additions and corrections cheerfully accepted. Alice Crawford
NCWBA Biz/ED Meeting Business & Education March 22, 2015 Chelan PUD 5 pm
UPCOMING DATES:
BEE Biz/Ed meeting (PUD BLDG), April 26, 2015 at 5PM with beginner beekeepers/any members with questions meeting at 4:30pm; BEE CHAT: April 9, 6pm at El Agavé CHELAN EARTH DAY: April 18, 9am – 4pm Riverfront Park LEAVENWORTH EARTH DAY: April 19, 12 noon – 4pm Lion’s Club Park
BEE PICKUPS: The following dates are estimates. Al will provide the final dates when he has them. Sunrise: April 3 or 4 Outdoor Bees: around April 18 Shafer’s: TBD, around the 3rd weekend of April
Members decided that the BEE CHAT will remain at El Agavé Restaurant for the April 9th BEE CHAT. Kriss will check on other locations with no charge meeting rooms.
Jessica and Emilka conducted a hive building session on 21 March using commercial components; several members participated.
Deb brought delicious honey-peanut butter treats.
Before each Biz/Ed meeting, volunteers will be available at 4:30pm to 5:00pm to answer questions from new beekeepers. For future Biz Ed, members suggested that demonstrations and education include the best times and preparation needed for different seasons and phases of beekeeping. Al volunteered to demonstrate making candy boards and hive handles. He also suggested a discussion on the costs of beekeeping. Kriss reported that the honey extractor is available for 2-day rental for $25 and includes use of associated tools.
Emilka suggested a June barbeque for educational demonstrations. Kriss reported that she hoped to organize a July barbeque to include a guest speaker from the WSU agriculture department.
Bee Suppliers: Al reported that only 2 bee suppliers are now available: Outdoor Bees and Shafer’s. Jeff O’Brien reported that he will bring the Sunrise bees from Yakima to the Crilly’s house on April 3 or 4. Outdoor Bees (Ruben) will deliver his nucs on about April 18, at the north end of town in the parking lot near Gateway Theater. Shafer’s will soon report their time of bee delivery.
Wenatchee city ordinance progress: Daryn reported that while the city of Wenatchee is determined to create an ordinance regarding beekeeping within city limits this year, he and Peter H. continue to do all the work of researching other city and community ordinances for Wenatchee, in order to present a potential ordinance model to the city. Leavenworth does not allow beekeeping within the city limits; Cashmere would like the club’s assistance in ordinance preparation; the Master Gardeners are interested in helping with research; Rep. Hawkins suggested the WA state council of cities might provide some models. Daryn and Peter welcome others to help. Call Daryn. Hives need to be registered with the state WSDA by April 1, 2015. The cost of registering is nominal.
Logo items: Kriss passed around the baseball-style hat displaying the agreed upon logo. The logo can be placed on different hat styles and different shirt styles, such as t-shirts and polo shirts. Members can go to GPA Embroidery at 22 N. Wenatchee Ave. to purchase logo items, pricing dependent on the style of hat or shirt chosen.
Treasurer’s report: GPA Embroidery charged $95 to set up the logo for the hats and shirts. Kriss will order shirts for sale at events. Members have ordered 150 nucs and packages of bees, with a few more orders placed at the end of the meeting. Some members wrote checks to the NCWBA rather than to the individual bee providers so those checks had to be processed through the bank account. The club currently has $1200 in the bank. Because the Apprentice class for this year was full but new members still wanted the information, Kriss and Steve will order a box of the Apprentice booklets and sell them for $10 each.
Volunteers are urgently needed to attend the booth at the Chelan (April 18) and Leavenworth (April 19) Earth Days. Wayne volunteered for the Leavenworth event. Please volunteer to come and sit with the posters and handouts. Call Kriss or Steve.
The club needs to purchase a sun shade for use in outdoor outreach events. Kriss reported that the Chelan Earth Day committee has specific requirements for the size of the sun shade and for safely securing the shade to avoid movement on windy days. Deb said the shade can be secured with cement blocks, 5 gallon cans of water, and pvc pipe filled with cement, for example. The club also needs to purchase a folding plastic table for use at the events. A vote was taken and the two purchases were approved.
Chelan County Fair: The fair takes place the weekend after Labor Day and the club will set up a presentation table in the Wilkins BLDG., Thursday through Sunday. There is an open class available for fair entries of honey, honey comb, and frames. Kriss asked for photographs such as pollinator photos for use on posters. Steve will present an Introduction to Beekeeping Class on the Sunday afternoon at the fair. There will be a honey extraction demonstration. Volunteers are needed for each of the days.
Swarms: Felix reported that when he has a list of volunteers to collect swarms, he starts with the first person on the list and continues down the list until he finds someone who is available, when he is not able to do the collection. Call him to get on the list and pair up with experienced swarm collectors.
Snack for the April 26 Biz/Ed meeting: Wayne and Janice
Al suggested that it would be interesting and informative to create a chart of beehive losses to include the time of year, location (city), suspected reasons for loss.
Education: Felix provided a detailed talk on the background of swarms, including the reason they occur, the time of year they typically occur, and the typical composition of a swarm. He also commented on the appearance of swarms, swarm behavior, and various locations where they organize. Swarm bees are heavily laden with honey and pollen that they have taken from their hive; as a result the swarms are usually docile unless abused. The presentation included information on hive management to avoid swarming and ways to capture a swarm, with a number of personal capture examples.
The March Biz/ED Meeting was completed at 6pm and Felix’s Swarm Presentation was completed at 7pm.
NCWBA Monthly Meeting Business & Education February 22, 2015 Chelan PUD 5pm
Old Business- Daryn talked about what’s going on with the Wenatchee City Ordinance, the Beekeeping in the city limits is one topic they are considering looking at this year. Need to order packages by next Bee Mtg. (3/22)-Al & Tim are the contacts Journeyman Class still in the process of getting formed, if interested talk to Steve Logo items-Kriss is going to order some hats and shirts w/logo on it Apprentice class on track for March-almost full, now open to public
New Business- Chelan Earth Day Fair- April 18th, need of volunteers for this-let us know if you are available Leavenworth Earth Day Fair- Date unsure, but we’ll need volunteers for this as well Coastal Demo Days-March 10th @ 5:30 Prizes & Education!!! Grant Money from Grower-Steve has been in contact, but no details as of yet Some club money will be spent on more business card & Flyers to pass out at our community events Enough club members liked the idea of a Beginner Hour, so that’ll be in the works in the future.
Education: Coming out of spring-what to check for & what to do Good time to think about feeding (honey, sugar, patties, etc) If signs of Nosema-protein patties now (early spring) can help knock that back Pollen is starting to come in As it warms up, open the entrance to allow for large amt.s of bees in and out Watch weather-it’s warm, but may want to keep insulation on a little longer Good time to swap out bottom box while empty, clean out frames with black/dark wax If you have crazy comb, replace it frame by frame as appropriate Mold- you can use a light bleach/water solution if it’s on your equipment. Good time to powder dust to knock down mites.
New Business: Earth Day in Chelan April 18th *Let Steve know if you are able to help with booth
WSBA Apprentice Class Marc 7, 21, & 28 $15 to sign up—talk to Steve Journeyman Class in the planning stages—let Steve know if you are interested.
There is a Grower in the area that has been in contact with our club about providing support. Ideas for how we would use extra donations: Event, Scholarships, Classes/Education, Horticultural Fair, FFA, National Honeybee day in August (on the 22nd)
Time to Start thinking about ordering bees…Al is in charge of ordering. The prices mentioned so far were: 3 lb pkg. $100, Queen $30 (have to be NCWBA member)-available in April, cutoff for ordering is mid March Nuc $130 + $20 refundable deposit.(available in June)
The group decided that we would like to see the following in 2015: Group Clean Out, Apiary Visits, Demos, Show & Tell, Summertime Potluck.
January 18, 2015
Chelan PUD Auditorium in Wenatchee, 5pm
In Attendance: Amy, Steve, Al, Jeff, Catrina & Bryan, Wayne, Janis, Alice, Dan & Becky, Russ, Amilka, Kelly & Jenna, James, Todd, Tandi & Jerry, Mike & Kari, Craig, Dennis, Stan
UPCOMING DATES: BEE MTG. February 22 @ 5PM (PUD BLDG) Snacks-Stan & Jane
BEE CHAT February 12 @ 6PM (El Agave)
Old Business- Jan. 7th Daryn, Kriss, & Steve went to Wenatchee City Council mtg. and gave them an ordinance to look at for Beekeeping in the city limits of Wenatchee
Steve passed around 2 hats with our logo on them, the group chose to have NCWBA on front and back of hat.
Time to register hives-State Law-link will be posted on website.
Important News: Wayne Rainey is our new Vice President—congratulations!!!
Amy Cummings is willing to stay on as secretary, but if anyone is able to back up for when she is unable to make meetings, please let her know.
Earth Day in Chelan April 18th *Let Steve know if you are able to help with booth
WSBA Apprentice Class Marc 7, 21, & 28 $15 to sign up—talk to Steve
Journeyman Class in the planning stages—let Steve know if you are interested.
There is a Grower in the area that has been in contact with our club about providing support.
Ideas for how we would use extra donations: Event, Scholarships, Classes/Education, Horticultural Fair, FFA, National Honeybee day in August (on the 22nd)
Time to Start thinking about ordering bees…Al is in charge of ordering, details will be posted soon when they are hashed out.
The group decided that we would like to see the following in 2015:
Group Clean Out, Apiary Visits, Demo’s, Show & Tell, Summertime Potluck.
Emilka and Jessica have offered to organize these sorts of activities on a monthly (or more frequent) basis during the season.
June 1, 2014 Chelan Co PUD 5pm Business/Education Meeting
Introduction of New People
2-3 membership forms handed out
Dates
July 10th – Bee Chat at SOUTH. More information will be coming soon. This will be a money making venture for the club. Watch for more detailed information – and a flyer that will advertise the event.
July 19th – (Saturday) Something different . . .
TENTATIVE: 3pm Visiting the apiary of Tim Bovee 4pm Visitng the apirary of Daryn Klingensmith 5pm Arriving at the Crilly House . . . for education and BBQ. Bee PhD Honey Bee grad student will speak Bee package person – Jim? – has been invited
This will be a members only event . . . unless prior arrangements have been made. For example – we’ve been contacted by Cloudview Eco Farms. They have some interns that are interested in bees.
MORE DETAILS LATER . . . . .
September 4 – 7 – Chelan County Fair Exhibitors Passes will be $12. These need to be purchased at the July or August Meeting. They can be purchased at the fairgrounds September 3rd – but it’s easier to prepurchase. To get in the Exhibitors Pass, you will need to sign up for a minimum of a 4 hour shift at the NCWBA booth at the fair. The pass will allow you entrance to the fair all 4 days.
No Minutes available from previous meeting
Treasurers Report $670.47 Apprentice Booklet bill has been paid
7 tests have been graded for Apprentice
Outreach has been going great – Earth Day in Leavenworth Ag Supply info table Pybus University Plain Hardware Info Day UPCOMING – Chelan County Fair
SWARM DISCUSSION/EDUCATION
Added new names to the Swarm Capture List
Need to looking a chef demonstrating – ‘Cooking with Honey’ At the PUD? Or at Pybus. Kriss will look into it.
MEETING ADJOURNED
Substitute Secretary – Kriss
North Central Washington Beekeepers Association March Business & Education Meeting March 16, 2014 Chelan County PUD
In Attendance: Jerry & Tandy, Tim & Gina, Mike & Carrie, Naomi, Tim, Dylan, Cliff, David & Cirri, Jane & Stan, Alix, James & Kriss, Amy, Andy, Craig, Mike, Felix, Jeff & Heidi, Michelle, Daryn, Marc, Daniel & Venessa
Next Bee Chat scheduled for: April 10th @ El Agave 6pm Next Bee Meeting scheduled for: April 27th @ Chelan County PUD
Treasurer’s Report $915 minus current expenses of $300= $600 (estimate)
Bee Packages ordered through Steve will be arriving on or around April 20th, pick up will be at the Crilly’s house (along with a hiving demonstration) 1311 Pershing St. Wenatchee…contact 664-3278…Time and confirmation on date to be announced!
Outreach Events:
Misc.
Educational Topic: Spring Management of Apiary and Hives
Amy Cummings, Secretary
NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION Is a registered Washington State Non-Proift. UBI 603594512
