Get to grips with the basics of beekeeping and explore the biology of honeybees and their environmental benefits. 

This confidence boosting course will cover all you need to know to get you started with beekeeping. Delve into the practicals of equipment, set up, maintenance and sympathetic bee handling skills as well as the lifecycle of bees, how honey and beeswax are processed and possible uses.

Key information

• Duration: two days
• Upcoming dates:
  • Saturday 29 – Sunday 30 May 2021
  • Saturday 17 – Sunday 18 July 2021
  • Saturday 11 – Sunday 12 September 2021
• Start and finish times: starts at 9.30am and ends at 4.30pm on the last day
• Fees: £240
• Includes: tuition, all materials, full board shared accommodation
• What to bring: boots – preferably wellingtons and a pair of gloves – this should be something like a Marigold washing-up type glove of a size that fits the hand really snugly.
• Terms and Conditions:
  • you must be 18 years or over to attend our courses.
  • For full list of terms and conditions click here

What you will learn

Gain all the necessary information and handling skills to get you started with honeybees from passionate bee and beekeeping expert Jonathan Garratt. Jonathan will guide you through sympathetic beekeeping – working with honeybees in a more natural way. 

Discover the importance and benefits of bees in the natural environment, looking at their pollinating role, how to encourage them into your garden, differences in life cycles, problems they encounter and ways we can help. 

Practical sessions with Jonathan’s bees will cover how to handle honeybees, the main workings of hives, different set ups available including frame and hive construction, and where to site hives. Find out where to source bees and what equipment is needed (and what isn’t!).

You’ll also learn how honey is processed, from hive to the table, and how beeswax is produced. There are many uses for both these products, and Jonathan will offer hints and tips as well as advice on useful books, magazines and websites. 

CAT is situated in the UNESCO Dyfi Biosphere, and the site is home to a wide variety of ecosystems and wildlife. This course is a great way to learn about bees while spending some time de-stressing in a natural environment, becoming more aware of the natural rhythms of nature and your own senses. 

Meet your tutor

Jonathan Garratt grew up with honeybees, going out to inspect the hives with his father as a child in Menai Bridge, Ynys Môn, and eventually taking on the full care of the hives. 

He has been a Seasonal Bee Inspector for the National Bee Unit since 2001, and has run courses in beekeeping for many years, independently and through organisations such as the National Botanic Gardens Wales, The Snowdonia Society, Bangor University and the Woodland Skills Centre.

Jonathan has a BSc (Hons) Environmental Science and Msc Rural Resource Management as well as a Permaculture Design Certificate. He has had various roles over the years in conservation, the environment, agriculture and environmental consultancy.

Jonathan has great enthusiasm and enjoys passing on his skills to others and promoting all bee species as well as honeybees.