Annual General Meeting of the Yarra Valley Bee Group will be held in person on 15th September 2024 beginning at 2pm. NB: To avoid the AFL Grand Final weekend, this meeting has been changed to the 15th Setember (not the usual last sunday of the month) Followed by Whats Happening in my hive? In preparation for the meeting, please view the following: AGM Minutes 2023 Agenda Activity Report Financial Report Committee Nomination Form Proxy form Oridinary Resolution-First Aid Training All are welcome to attend the AGM. However, only financial members are entitled to vote.  If you are unsure of your financial status, please email us to check at yarravalleybeegroup@mail.tidyhq.com   Do you love your Bee Group? Do you want it to continue? Then we need your help! To allow this great club of ours to continue, we need nominations for the Office Bearers for the YVBG Committee. These include President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. You don't need to be an experienced beekeeper to nominate for these roles. Whether you're a Newbee or an Oldie, we'll look after you!  Like any club, there is a lot going on behind the scenes. However, the more help we have, the more we can grow. Please join our friendly and focused committee so that together we can help our YVBG group thrive. Did I mention that there are only four meetings a year! Click here for position descriptions or go ahead and fill out a Committee Nomination Form. Please return to us no later than the 25th August. Positions are also available for the General committee. Examples of how you could help as a general committee member: Book Borrowing and Equipment Library Newsletter Social media Help to coordinate our presence at public events  Monthly meeting coordination  Membership Coordination Swarm Collection and Bee removal Want to talk to someone before committing? Feel free to email us on yarravalleybeegroup@mail.tidyhq.com Meetings are held at ECOSS, 711 Old Warburton Road, Wesburn, in the newly renovated ‘Coop’ (past the old house, over the green, down the bottom).

1.30 for a 2pm start 2pm - Whats happening in my hive?  Followed by our Speaker - Janis Feldgren - Preparing for Spring! We are lucky to have Janis, from Beewise, return to talk to us about what we need to do in preparation for Spring.  Join us and keep up to date with local conditions that effect your hive, connect with other beekeepers, share resources, improve your apiary skills and learn more about honeybee ecology. Non members are welcome too. Meetings are held at ECOSS, 711 Old Warburton Road, Wesburn, in the ‘Coop’ (past the old house, over the green, down the bottom). Gold coin donation appreciated. 

1.30 for a 1.45pm start What better to do on a rainy day than sit in a nice warm coop (fire will be going) and talk about bees! 2pm - Shane Doran - Varroa, history, genetics and more! Shane Doran is from Bee Removals Victoria/Wondermazing Honeybees. He specialises in beehive relocations, especially from impossible locations. He runs two successful bee related businesses and is getting ready to start his Masters in Bee Research. At this meeting, Shane will be talking to us about Varroa, history, genetics and more. Shanes presentation is a 2 hours session, so make sure you're there by 1.45 :) Im told its very informative and interactive.  Non members are welcome too.  Meetings are held at ECOSS, 711 Old Warburton Road, Wesburn, in the ‘Coop’ (past the old house, over the green, down the bottom). Gold coin donation appreciated. 

1.30 for a 2pm start - If you plan on entering your honey into the competition, please arrive by 1.20. 1.30pm - Honey Judging will begin 2pm - 4pm Main meeting - beginning with Whats Happening in your hive? We are incredibly lucky to have Matt & Vanessa from Rooftop Honey judging our members in-house honey competition. They will begin judging at 1.30 (as it takes a bit of time), so remember to arrive at 1.20 to register your jar of honey. Whilst they are tasting and judging, we will continue with our meeting. Once they are done, they will announce the winners and give us pointers on preparing for the Lilydale Show competition in November. So, remember to prepare your best jar of honey! See below on how to best to do this. Here are the Competition Guidelines: You will need to be a current member to partake in this competition Honey to be in a standard cylindrical 500gm [375ml] clear glass jar with no ornamentation. Use a new jar to ensure there are no contaminants. Jar to be filled halfway between neck and lid, with no wax particles evident. Do not place any stickers or names on your jar. It must be plain. We will number your jar on the day. Honey will be judged on colour [25points], density [25 points], flavor [25 points], general appearance [15 points], and aroma [10 points], giving a potential score of 100 points. Tips from the VAA: One hint that the VAA has shared concerning preparing a jar exhibit is this - start with approximately 1kg of honey, let it stand for several weeks to settle. Any wax particles and air bubbles will rise to the top, and any heavier bits will sink to the bottom. Carefully and slowly decant the top 250 gm off, and jar the next 500gm. Theoretically, you then have a clean and clear exhibit! REMEMBER: Arrive by 1.20 if you want to enter your honey in the competition.  If you have any questions, please email us at yarravalleybeegroup@mail.tidyhq.com    Join us and keep up to date with local conditions that effect your hive, connect with other beekeepers, share resources, improve your apiary skills and learn more about honeybee ecology. Non members are welcome too. Meetings are held at ECOSS, 711 Old Warburton Road, Wesburn, in the ‘Coop’ (past the old house, over the green, down the bottom). Gold coin donation appreciated. 

Hurry - ticket sales end midnight Thursday 6th!  Mead Making Workshop 2024 Cost $107 using your own honey (1.6kg) $132 honey included (1.6kg) - recommended as using the same honey is easier to compare like for like. Includes:  1 x intial workshop on the 16th June and 2 x follow ups (late Sept / early October) for racking and then bottling. 2 x 5l glass demoijohns, bungs and airlock 12 x 375ml new clear glass bottles with stelvin closures Yeast, fruit, spices, fermentation nutrient, steriliser etc. 1.6 kg of honey (supplied by beechworth - if all participants use the same honey we can then compare like for like) Once you know how to do it, you can then use your own  *This is a members only event. Tickets are essential  Enquiries - Greg Huggins president.yarravalleybeegroup@mail.tidyhq.com  

1.30 for a 2pm start 2pm - Whats happening in my hive?  Followed by an information session run by Greg Huggins What do Beekeepers do over Winter? What winter jobs can we do to keep ourselves busy whilst our bees are "quiet"? Greg will share some of his must-do jobs to ensure he is ready for Spring. Cleaning boxes and frames, storing euipment, rendering wax, making new frames. What's on your list? Bring along your ideas to share with the group. Join us and keep up to date with local conditions that effect your hive, connect with other beekeepers, share resources, improve your apiary skills and learn more about honeybee ecology. Non members are welcome too. Meetings are held at ECOSS, 711 Old Warburton Road, Wesburn, in the ‘Coop’ (past the old house, over the green, down the bottom). Gold coin donation appreciated. 

1.30 for a 2pm start  Speaker - Janis from Beewise - Wintering Bees We are thrilled to have Janis, from Beewise, talk about what we should do between now and spring and how we can assist the bees to stay cosy and dry? Join us to hear Janis answer questions such as: How many boxes?   What about queen excluders? Did I leave enough feed in the right places for the bees to successfully winter. When should I feed?  There are plusses and minuses to feeding at the wrong times. Conditions for your bees, Supplements, Safe storage of gear into spring? So what happened after the last three seasons and what are we likely to experience in the coming one?  Can we survive any type of season?  Will I be ready for what is coming in August and September?   and of course, biosecurity matters. Come along and keep up to date with local conditions that effect your hive, connect with other beekeepers, share resources, improve your apiary skills and learn more about honeybee ecology. Non members are welcome too. Meetings are held at ECOSS, 711 Old Warburton Road, Wesburn, in the ‘Coop’ (past the old house, over the green, down the bottom). Gold coin donation appreciated. 

Our Honey Co-op will hold an Extraction Day on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th April This is an opportunity for you to sell your honey to our Co-op. You will need to be a YVBG member to take part in this extraction day. You will be required to assist on the day with extracting, jarring & labelling your own honey, and in cleaning up afterwards. There will be club equipment avaialble for use.  However, you can bring your own clean extracting gear if you have it.  You can bottle your own honey on the day after the club honey has been bottled. Also, to make hiring the kitchen viable, the Club will need to purchase at least 50% of the honey you extract & bottle on the day. We will supply jars for the honey you are selling to the Club, but you will need to supply and bring your own jars to the Extraction Day for the honey you are bottling to take back home. You will be paid $10 a kilo by YVBG for your honey.  The Club then sells the honey at local Festivals and the Lilydale Show to help with fundraising for our Club. To let us know that you'd like to attend, please register your ticket below.  Please idicate in the details box your preferred time (Sat am or pm / Sunday am or pm). You will also be asked how many frames/kilos you think you might be extracting. This is not an exact science. It's just to give us an idea.  Basically this is an expression of interest and we will be in touch when we can confirm that the event is going ahead. If you have any questions, you are welcome to email us at secretary.yarravalleybeegroup@mail.tidyhq.com. Registrations close EOB Wednesday 10 April Remember you need to be a member of YVBG to attend this session.   

*****Please note the change of date (to avoid Easter) from Sunday 31st to Sunday 24th March 1.30 for a 2pm start 2pm - Whats happening in my hive?  We will then be discussing different ways of honey extracting, looking at tools and equipment etc. In keeping with our members desire for more membership involvement, we would like to encourage you to bring anything, including videos you may wish to show and tell including tips and tricks you have discovered along the way. Join us and keep up to date with local conditions that effect your hive, connect with other beekeepers, share resources, improve your apiary skills and learn more about honeybee ecology. Non members are welcome too. Meetings are held at ECOSS, 711 Old Warburton Road, Wesburn, in the ‘Coop’ (past the old house, over the green, down the bottom). Gold coin donation appreciated. 

****Yarra Valley Bee Group will have a stall at the Ecotopia. Let us know if you can spare a few hours to volunteer. yarravalleybeegroup@mail.tidy.com.au Ecotopia is an ECOSS Annual celebration of community the earth and opening Permaculture Week in the Yarra Valley. They love to bring everyone together and showcase the new developments at ECOSS during the year, eat delicious healthy food and support our local producers, art and craft stalls and learn about environmental initiatives. Activities for all ages include: Welcome to Country Youth bike jump activity with Jigsaw Jumps Permaculture Puppet Show- The Dreaming Space Circus Story time - Eastern Regional Libraries Tilda and Stella- incredible young violinists Little Yarra Ensemble - Little Yarra Steiner School Students Forro Lamparina- Authentic Brazillian experience with traditional instruments. Girl Eats Boy- the dynamic duo hailing from the picturesque landscapes of country Victoria BOTH- Warranwood based teenager contemporary band. https://events.humanitix.com/ecotopia-festival-2024   https://www.facebook.com/events/2028459297527695?active_tab=about

1.30 for a 2pm start 2pm - Whats happening in my hive?  Followed by an information sharing session. Bring along your favourite beekeeping idea, piece of equipment, technique or fun fact to share with everyone. You are welcome to bring small things to show and tell, printed photos (or on a memory stick), your favourite book, a story, an invention or technique you have mastered. They'll be a time limit so everyone has a chance to share. So, get your thinking caps on and decide what you'd like to share before the 25th February. Join us and keep up to date with local conditions that effect your hive, connect with other beekeepers, share resources, improve your apiary skills and learn more about honeybee ecology. Non members are welcome too. Meetings are held at ECOSS, 711 Old Warburton Road, Wesburn, in the ‘Coop’ (past the old house, over the green, down the bottom). Gold coin donation appreciated. 

1.30 for a 2pm start 2pm - Speaker - Andrew Wootton - Withstanding Varroa Andrew Wootton is a certified Master Beekeeper with the Eastern Apicultural Society of North America and has run numerous beginners’ courses and queen-raising workshops.  He is a board member of the Victorian Apiarists’ Association (VAA) and recently became Chair of its Education Committee. As an active SQRT (State Quarantine Response Team) member he has been deployed numerous times with both Agriculture Victoria and the NSW DPI on the varroa response. He has recently presented at the VAA and his presentation will assist us to answer questions such as: Will I lose all my hives? What happens to the feral hives? What can I do to help my bees? Are treatments available yet? Are they breeding Varroa resistant queens? Can we import such queens? So, come along and hear from someone who has the knowledge and expereince about what to expect and how to best manage our hives with Varroa. Come prepared with your own questions for Andrew. This will be followed by our monthly Whats happening in my hive?  Join us and keep up to date with local conditions that effect your hive, connect with other beekeepers, share resources, improve your apiary skills and learn more about honeybee ecology. Non members are welcome too. Meetings are held at ECOSS, 711 Old Warburton Road, Wesburn, in the ‘Coop’ (past the old house, over the green, down the bottom). Gold coin donation appreciated.