Bee School Overview

Welcome to SEMBA’s Beginning Bee School. This ten-month course introduces new and aspiring beekeepers to the vast world of beekeeping. The goal is to prepare participants to become consistently successful beekeepers. Through a combination of input from national experts, classroom instruction, and hands-on experience, students work closely with a team of experienced beekeepers to learn what to expect and how to manage the first year of keeping honey bees. The course applies sustainable beekeeping practices and exposes students to a broad spectrum of essentials including the biology of the honey bee, their connection to the pollinators who share their habitats, honey bee health, pests and diseases, seasonal hive management, tools of the trade, and products from the hives.  

Students are not required to keep bees to take this class. Many students choose to wait a year before starting their own apiary. Those who keep bees during the class year will raise one colony in the community bee yard, at their respective class sites, and move them to their permanent locations in the fall. Campus apiaries can only support one colony per student; therefore, students opting to keep more than one colony must secure other location sites for those colonies. 

Please consider your schedule when committing to this class and/or location. The combination of assigned readings, class discussions, and hands-on learning has a direct impact on participants’ success in beekeeping and colony health. While attendance is not mandatory, lack of attendance can be detrimental to hitting milestones and meeting the course goals. 

SEMBA’s mission of honey bee sustainability: For the bees and your bank account, we collaborate with SEMBA’s beekeeping community, the Michigan Beekeepers Association (MBA), and Michigan State University Pollinator Extension Services to provide students with the opportunity to purchase Michigan bred nucleus (‘nuc’) colonies to start their apiaries.

The Beginning Bee School program is offered at 2 locations: 

1. MSU Extensions Tollgate Farm, 28115 Meadowbrook Road, Novi

Conference Center/Barn and Community Bee yard.

1. Bowers School Farm, 1223 East Square Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills

Farm Activity Building (FAB) and Community Bee yard

At both locations, classes take place on Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

2026 Class Schedule…and Beyond

#1Jan 25

So You Want to Be a Beekeeper? Joint class at Bowers School Farm, via ZOOM if the weather is not cooperating

#2Feb 22

Equipment “Show & Tell”  and review of  upcoming conferences

March 14: SEMBA Spring Conference

Washtenaw Community College Conference Center, Ann Arbor

#2.5Mar 16

Evening ZOOM Class for all SEMBA members: Yikes! My hives survived the winter! What do I do now?

#3Mar 22

What do bees need? What do beekeepers need? Building/assembling hive  equipment

#4Apr 12

Bee biology, parasites, pests, & diseases

#5May 3

Preparing for the arrival of your bees

#6May 31

Inspecting your new colonies, testing for mites, identifying a strong queen

#7June 28

Swarms, nucs and splits

#8July 26

Preparing for winter: Feeding, treating, wrapping, disease management and mite control

#9Aug 16

Honey harvesting and extracting: Tips and tricks on how to let the gold flow

#10Sep 13

Maintenance and robbing. mite load monitoring, final winterizing

#10.5Date TBD

Evening ZOOM Class for all SEMBA members: Last Call - Q & A On Winter Prep and Late Season Varroa Management

#11Oct 11

Wrap party, crash course in honey tasting and student presentations

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Our Beginning Bee School program will be offered at two locations this year: 

1. MSU Extensions Tollgate Farm at Twelve Mile Rd. and Meadow Brook rd. Novi. 

2. Bowers Farm School at Square Lake and Adams Road, Bloomfield.

All locations will host class from 1:00pm - 3:30pm, Sunday