Our Honey Co-op will hold an Extraction Day on 21st and 22nd March in Kilsyth. (venue to be advised) 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 on the day.  However, you can bring your own clean extracting gear if you have it.  Please let us know if you are interested in attending either day over this weekend and approximately how much honey you have to extract and bottle. As we will need to spread participants evenly over the weekend, please let us know what times you are available.If you plan to be involved, please email secretary.yarravalleybeegroup@mail.tidyhq.com. 

1:30 - What's Hapening in my Hive? Followed by main meeting  Beekeeping Then and Now Ian Brown started beekeeping in England and continued with his beekeeping when he arrived in Australia in 1964.  He was a commercial beekeeper with around 100 hives in the early days and is now a back-yard beekeeper with three hives.   He has seen many changes, but many things have stayed the same, so in this presentation he will be covering a number of aspects of beekeeping, including sharing some of his ideas. 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. Monthly meetings are usually the last Sunday of the month. 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).

Welcome to 2020. Our first meeting of the year will be held Sunday 26th January.  1:30 - What's Hapening in my Hive? Followed by main meeting  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. Monthly meetings are usually the last Sunday of the month. 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 - What's Happening in my Hive? Followed by main meeting Making your own Mead - Phil Godman We will have a short session on how to begin making your own Mead. You can make this ancient honey-based drink  at home. There are many recipes & variations to suit your own personal tastes. We will focus on how to make it work using common household items & recycling, without having to spend much money on equipment. Get a bottle ready for the 2020 Lilydale Show Competition! If you have your own favourite tried-and-true recipes, please bring them along to share and if you have samples of previous brews, feel free to bring them along too! As this is our last meeting for the year we will be having a little festive fun. Please BYO plate of something you'd like to share for a late lunch/afternoon tea Christmas celebration. 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. Monthly meetings are usually the last Sunday of the month. 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 - What's Happening in my Hive? Followed by main meeting Bee Friendly Gardens - How do you go about increasing the bee forage opportunities in your own garden or landscape? Inspired by attending the Yarra Valley Bee Group meetings, local landscape designer Jane Stormer is keen to get a hive and has learnt that to have happy bees, you need to design and plant out your garden in particular ways. The CSIRO has done an extensive Australia wide report on what to plant in what regions to increase honey yields and bee populations. This talk focusses on the opportunities in cool temperate climates and her hope is to draw you out to share your local observations and learnings in your own garden/landscape. 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. Monthly meetings are usually the last Sunday of the month. 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).

Honey Competition Click here to find out all about the honey competition. (run in conjunction with our YVbee group) Volunteers needed to man our Honey Stall We will also have a stall at the show so we'll bee looking for volunteers. email yvbeegroup@gmail.com if you're interested.   Visit their Website to find out whats on this year   ANIMALS     Horse Events all weekend on No. 2 Oval     Sheep Competitions and Sheering, Saturday in the David Wilkinson Pavilion     Poultry Competition , Saturday in the Chandler Pavilion     Alpacas - Young Handlers, Sunday in Chandler Pavilion     Yarra Valley Young Farmers, Sunday     Dairy Goat Display, Sunday     Animal Nursey all weekend in Melba Park     Reptile Display all weekend in Melba Park     Dog Obedience and Dog Agility Display, Saturday on the Main Arena     Dog Flyball Competition, Sunday on the Main Arena     Donkey Display and Rides all weekend in Melba Park     Sheep Dog Trials and Demonstrations all weekend in Melba Park ​​ ​ DISPLAYS FOR EVERYONE TO ENJOY ALL WEEKEND     Educational Display, Youth Club     Lego Display, Youth Club     Meccano Display, Youth Club     Art Display, Jean Eales Pavilion     Photography Display, Jean Eales Pavilion     Cookery Display, Jean Eales Pavilion     Wool Display, Jean Eales Pavilion     Craft Display, Jean Eales Pavilion     Needlework Display, Jean Eales Pavilion     Horticulture Display, Horticulture Pavilion     Honey Display, Jean Eales Pavilion     Car Display, Briggs McDonnell Pavilion ​​ ENTERTAINMENT     Carnival Rides for young and old     Side Show Alley - step up and win a prize!     Free entertainment on the stage all weekend in Melba Park     Woodchop Events - outside the Youth Club     Showbag Vans - outside the Youth Club     Balmoral Highland Dancing, Saturday     Victorian Scottish Dancing, Sunday     Aussie Sports Activations, Main Arena all weekend     FIREWORKS - dusk Saturday, Main Arena    

1:30 - What's Happening in my Hive? Followed by main meeting Safe removal of Bees Shane Doran from Bee Removals Victoria will be presenting on how to do cutouts safely and the legal implications of relocating bees. Shane will share some videos of the more interesting relocations and also show some of the equipment they use in relocations. 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. Monthly meetings are usually the last Sunday of the month. 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).

Come and see the Yarra Valley Bee Group at the Kilsyth Festival - we will have a honey stall. The 2019 Kilsyth Festival (formerly the Kilsyth Chelodina Festival) will be held on Sunday 27th October and is run by the Kilsyth Community Action Group in conjunction with the Friends of Elizabeth Bridge Reserve. The Festival is held at the beautiful Elizabeth Bridge Reserve in Durham Road. Its main aim is to engage our local communities by offering a wonderful environment for people of all ages to enjoy the natural setting. It is a fun way to promote environmentally sustainable businesses and activities from across the Yarra Ranges, and to encourage people to shop, play and eat locally.

BENDIGO BRANCH 40th BEE FIELD DAY IS ON SUNDAY 13th OCT AT HARCOURT mark it on your calendar. Demos on Honey extracting, open hive including flow hive, wiring frames, boxing a swarm, questions & answers. Auction of bee equipment Queen Bee pick up (order NOW) Bus trips out to ToJo Packing Plant Biosecurity info BBQ &cold drinks Stall holders a plenty This is a day not to be missed. See flyer

1:30 - What's Happening in my Hive? Followed by main meeting The value of local flora Local Beekeeper Bernie Heinze, from the VAA (Victorian Apiarist's Associations), will talk about local flora and their value to bees. What are the flowering plants of this area that yield nectar? Why some plants are dying out in the bush and what can be done to prevent it? What plants to plant near your apiary and their cultivation eg. To fertilise or not? To prune or not? Native bees and their preservation. Bernie has offered to help identify any plants that you may have, so bring them to the meeting. 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. Monthly meetings are usually the last Sunday of the month. 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).

1:30pm - Annual General Meeting In preparation for the meeting, please view the following: AGM Minutes 2018 Agenda Committee Nomination Form Proxy form 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 yvbeegroup@gmail.com.   2pm - Main Meeting With the transition from Winter to Spring well on its way, Janis from Beewise will be speaking to us about Spring Management. He will focus on the current issues and challenges that our bees face when coming out of winter and building up for the new season. 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. Calling for nominations for our Committee Take your interest in bees to the next level. Join or friendly and focused committee to work together to help this group thrive. Put your skills and abilities to work with only four meetings a year. Nominations are invited for the following executive positions: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. (Click here for position descriptions and see below links to nomination forms).

1:30 - What's Happening in my Hive? Followed by the main meeting. John Edmonds - New Beekeeping Innovations John has been a keen Beekeeper ever since his Father introduced him to bees at a young age. He has always lived with bees in the backyard and learnt how to keep them alongside his Dad. They formed a partnership and operated as weekend beekeepers for many years. They sold their honey at markets. John left full time employment in 1995 and has since been growing his business. Geelong Honey - beekeeping equipment and honey supplies. John says that he is fortunate to have combined his much loved lifestyle into a business and has had many adventures. Raising queen bees is one of Johns passions. He has experimented with various methods as well as different types of beekeeping equipment. Join us on Sunday hear John talk about what he has learnt and hear about some New Beekeeping Innovations.   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. Monthly meetings are usually the last Sunday of the month. 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).