The last guild meeting of 2016 is tomorrow, Wednesday, 7 December. Instead of our regular meeting, we will be celebrating another successful year of bee stewardship with a potluck and social time. Bring something to eat and drink, and have a good time with fellow beekeepers. Same time, same place – see you there!

Our November Guild Meeting is tomorrow at 6:30. We’ll be talking about making sure your girls are ready for winter, and what to watch for now that the rains are upon us. See you there!

Our October Guild Meeting is this evening. For our presentation session, guild Member Bodo Langen will be discussing alternative beekeeping approaches and hive product uses. There will also be a new sub-group meeting from 6:30 to 7:00 to talk about Top Bar Hive management. This will take place alongside our regular Q&A session at this time.

Finally, please bring honey to the meeting to give as a gift to the El Rio residents at.

This is our way of thanking them for generously allowing us to use their meeting room “rent free” -which is why as a guild we do not have membership dues. We should be able to give each home a small gift jar. Please help us out!!

If you have harvested honey, bring your own. If you have not harvested or do not have lots to share, please buy a few jars.
Penny will be transferring the honey into lovely gift jars for the El Rio Residents, so a quart jar or two is perfect.

The September 2016 Guild Meeting is tomorrow night. In addition to our usual agenda items, we will hear from UCSC graduate student, Monika Egerer. She’ll be discussing her research on the ecological complexities of urban agriculture in the California central coast.

Check out the meeting agenda here.

Note: to accommodate Monika’s schedule, we’ve changed the format of the meeting around a bit. We’ll be hearing from Monika at 7:00, and continue with our meeting after the break.

See you there!

Our August Guild Meeting is tomorrow night. In addition to the standard topics, Karla and Marja will be discussing fall management practices and late-season hive management. See you there!

Our July Guild meeting is tonight:

https://www.santacruzbees.com/event/july-2016-guild-meeting/

We have a great speaker lined up, Hamutahl Cohen, who is a Ph.D. Student in Environmental Studies at UCSC. Her research looks at how agricultural practices and urbanization impact pollinators. She’s conducting research on bee-microbe interactions in urban gardens and farms along the Central Coast of California. She’s worked with honey bees and mason bees, but is also fascinated by the diversity of native bee pollinators in California. Her presentation will touch on her mason bee research, bee biodiversity, Colony Collapse Disorder, and tips for gardeners to support bees in their own home gardens.

See you there!

The June 2016 Guild Meeting is tomorrow. In addition to our regular agenda, Emily Bondor will be talking about the UC Davis Bee Symposium, Small Hive Beetle, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) See you there!

P.S. As usual, please park outside the El Rio Mobile Home Park. If there are spaces available, you may use the Lenz Arts lot, but please don’t block anyone in – including keeping the gate area clear. Thanks!

The May guild meeting is this Wednesday. Our guest speaker this month had to reschedule, so we’ll be hearing form Karla about what she picked up at the “Organic/Natural Beekeeping Conference” in March, and from Marja about an all-day session she attended with Bernardo Niño from the E.L. Niño Bee Lab in the Department of Entomology at UC Davis.

Also, please be sure to note the parking information on the meeting page.

See you Wednesday!

The April guild meeting is this Wednesday. In addition to the regular topics, we’ll be discussing splits.

Also, please be sure to note the parking information on the meeting page. At the March meeting things got a bit tight in the Lenz lot, and we almost blocked in some employees. Andrew Lenz, Jr., the owner, has told us we are welcome to use the lot after hours, but please follow these guidelines:

Never block any cars in the Lenz Arts lot.

Staff sometimes stays until 7 p.m. and a number park behind the building (behind the chain link fence). Please keep the fence area clear so employees can get out.

We may use the Lenz Arts lot on the following conditions:
– Any parking in the lot really should be after 6:10 p.m. and MUST, MUST be after 6 p.m. (Earlier runs the risk of towing.)
– Absolutely no blocking egress of ANY vehicle*
– No parking anywhere along the fence where it says “No parking”.
*Never assume that all cars in the lot are beekeeper cars since they are typically not.

Thanks for your help and cooperation.

See you Wednesday!

The February Guild Meeting is this Wednesday. We have a great speaker from UCSC – Christof Bernau – coming to talk to us about bee-friendly plants.

Also, if you’re thinking of getting into beekeeping, this is the time of year to get started! Come to the meeting at 6:30, where you’ll have an opportunity to ask all your questions about becoming a beekeeper and you’ll meet the Santa Cruz beekeeping community!

See you Wednesday!