First Year: Listen to the Bees Mentorship
A Mentorship Focused on the Magic & Science of Bees
This mentorship will guide you through your first year with bees so they have the best chance of living through the winter, but not only living, thriving! Learning will take place both via Zoom and in-person hive inspections in a collaborative matter where you learn not only from Jennifer, the instructor, but from the other mentees and the bees themselves.
Listening to the bees means:
- Being in touch with what’s going on in the environment (weather, day length, and food supply) in the current week/month.
- Inspecting and observing what the bees are doing in response to that environment.
- Figuring out what we, as beekeepers, can do to help the bees accomplish what they are working at and mitigate extreme weather, disasters, & mite levels.
The 8-month beginning mentorship will take place mid-March – mid-November to guide you smoothly through your first year with bees. You will:
- Learn to be comfortable inspecting, including how to use the tools smoothly, keep the bees calm, and what to look for in the hive
- Be able to ask questions each step of the way, so you know whether what you see is normal for your bees or warrants attention/help.
- Learn how to test and manage for varroa mites, the number one killer of bees in the East Bay, so your hive stays healthy.
- Start to learn the different seasons and what the bees are doing. March – June the focus is getting comfortable with the bees and swarm prevention. July-October, as the food supply lessens, the focus becomes mite management, defense, and preparing for winter.
One focus of this mentorship is time in the presence of the bees to pay attention to them and learn to read their behavior. Inspections will be in small groups of 4-5 people.
The mentorship fosters a warm, fun community of beekeepers that care deeply about their bees. If you listen to other people’s experiences with their hives, you will know what to do in the future if a similar thing happens to your hive. Mentees get to know each other and sometimes help each other inspect, loan equipment, and share extra splits of bees.
What’s Included in the Mentorship:
Personal Help with Your Hive
- Email/text me detailed questions about your hives throughout the mentorship.
- I visit each mentee’s hive during the mentorship as part of the hive inspection classes.
Classes:
- In-Person Hive Inspection Classes 1.5-2 hrs each
- We will set dates for 6-7 hive inspections, but weather may cancel 1-2.
- Hive inspections happen on Saturdays/Sundays between 11am and 4pm, tentatively starting the weekend of March 22/23.
- Questions About Your Hive Zoom – 1.5-2 hrs
Twice per month at 6pm on Wednesday evenings
We’ll start out with a 30-60 minute class on pertinent topics. For the last hour, we’ll go around and each person gets to ask questions about their hive, and plan for next steps.
Tentative starting dates: March 19th (Intro & Prep for Inspecting), April 2nd (Preparing for your bees) - Homework/Hive Checklists: These checklists will remind you what needs to be done in your hive by what date.
- Access to Jennifer’s Book: Bay Area Beekeeping Guide for Urban Backyard Beekeepers: a monthly roadmap of what to do with your bees
- Access to Jennifer’s Self-Study Classes on:
- Hive Inspection (3 hours)
- Varroa Mite Management (3 hours)
- Honey Harvesting (2 hours)
- Preparing for Winter (2.5 hours)
Recordings of everything: organized and easily accessible in an online school portal!
Learn everything you need to keep your bees alive and healthy your first year!
(This would take you 5-10 years to learn on your own.)
Mentorship Price:
The 2025 mentorship is sliding scale $1300-$1600 with $1450 being the suggested price. (or $130-160/month for 10 months/payments)
Sliding scale allows you to choose what you pay. Generous mentees pay higher on the scale which allows the mentorship to be more accessible to people who can’t pay as much.
What Do Students Say About the Mentorship?
Click here to see testimonials from past students & see how they describe it in their own words.
Mentorship Application
What if I Have Bee Experience? Are There Mentorships Past the First Year?
YES! My mentorship program has 4 years. Use the application above to apply and I will fit you in based on your experience.
— 1st year (March-November): we build a solid foundation to keep your bees alive: inspecting technique, keeping the bees calm, simple swarm prevention, basic varroa mite management, and preparing them for winter. If your hive has not survived the winter, I recommend you start here.
— 2nd year (Feb – October): we focus on splitting hives and how the bees make queens. It continues to build a strong beekeeping foundation of inspecting, swarm prevention, & varroa mite mgmt. If your hive overwinters successfully, this is the year for you.
— 3rd year (Feb – October) is for people that have already split a hive and/or have been in my mentorship before. We go deeper and learn about the whys of bee behavior/beekeeping, making queen cells/grafting, queen evaluation/replacement, possible Randy Oliver visit/class, and more!
This mentorship offers a methodical, comprehensive foundation in beekeeping. You will receive continual access to answers for all of your beekeeping needs, reducing stress on you and the bees!
In the vast world of beekeeping, the mentorship zeros in on our precise Bay Area climate with expertise, guiding you through many and varied issues that can cause problems.
Mentees say that this program creates hands-on facility and knowledge that keeps beekeeping fun and full of ease, all while connecting you to a fantastic and supportive community and contributing to the success of your hive.
Questions?
- Email me your questions: Jennifer@learnfromthebees.com