Important!
You must be a current member of NMBKA, your dues are paid, that you are logged in to submit an application for the Certified Beekeepers Program.
What You’ll Learn!
The Certified Beekeepers Program is organized through the New Mexico Beekeepers Association in cooperation with the City of Albuquerque and other cities around the state. This comprehensive program provides quality education on beekeeping. Classes are taught by recognized, expert New Mexico beekeepers and include supervised, hands-on lessons, using top-bar and Langstroth honeybee hives. As part of the program, students receive a full-color handbook covering the essentials of beekeeping. Students who complete this two-year curriculum and 40 hours of community outreach will earn a Beekeepers Certification.
The program has been developed to achieve essential objectives:
- Consistent training in best practices of beekeeping
- Community education and outreach
The program is offered only in Albuquerque at the City of Albuquerque’s Open Space Visitor Center, located on Coors Blvd NW, is used unless otherwise announced.
Year One – Level I Topics
- Beekeeping Equipment, Protective Clothing
- Races of Honey Bees and Bee Biology
- Roles of the Drones, Workers and Queen
- Spring, Summer and Fall Hive Management
- Honey and Wax Processing
- Swarm Catching, Diseases and Pests
- Botany, Ecology, Phenology, Pollination
- Record keeping, Marketing & Selling
- Apitherapy
Each class includes guided hive inspections with experienced beekeepers in both Langstroth and Top Bar hives.
Year Two – Level II Topics
Level II is more self-guided and includes class time, electives and top bar and Langstroth mentoring sessions.
Class Topics:
- Bee Horticulture
- Queen Health / Queen Rearing
- Africanized Bees
- Varroa Mite Management
Electives (Any Three):
- NMBKA Winter Conference
- NMBKA Summer Conference
- Top Bar Hive Construction
- Queen Rearing
- Solar Wax Melter Construction
- Ken Hays Honey Farm
- Honey Harvest and Processing
- Record keeping, Marketing & Selling
- Apitherapy
Mentoring
Students will spend time with experienced Top Bar and Langstroth beekeepers to increase their knowledge of managing bees with these types of hives. Students will learn to split colonies in these types of hives, seasonal arrangement of brood and resources within the hive, spotting queens, signs of swarming, and overall hive health.
Community Outreach Opportunities
- Environmental Fairs
- Mentoring in the Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center Apiary
- Volunteering at the New Mexico State Fair
- Tractor Brewery annual Bees & Seeds event
- … many more including student-initiated opportunities
Important!
You must be a current member of NMBKA, your dues are paid, that you are logged in to submit an application for the Certified Beekeepers Program.
Important!
You must be a current member of NMBKA, your dues are paid, that you are logged in to submit an application for the Certified Beekeepers Program.