The Farms: Winterizing Beehives

Experience Level: Beginner

Illinois winters can be hard on honey bees, so understanding how to help honey bees survive the winter is an important part of beekeeping. At Winterizing Beehives on Sunday, Sept. 22 from 1 to 3 p.m. in The Studio, master beekeeper Maggie Wachter will demonstrate the main steps for preparing hives to withstand winter so bees can emerge strong and healthy in the spring.

Participants should wear long sleeves and pants, loose-fitting garments and no open shoes. They should also bring a protective bee veil and unscented rubber gloves.

$20/person. Register here by Sept. 6. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

When Maggie Wachter began her social work degree at the University of Illinois in 2008, she had no idea that she would become a beekeeper. As for honey, she kept a single jar in the back of her kitchen cabinet for recipes. Today she is a master beekeeper who never eats sugar.

Maggie received her first hive as a gift in 2008. By 2010, she was enrolled in the Master Beekeeper course at the University of Florida. From there, things happened quickly to turn her life around. In 2012, she started teaching beekeeping for Parkland Community Education and today she is a beekeeping teacher, honey judge, mead maker and master beekeeper.

She has also participated in honeybee research at the University of Illinois and the USDA.

About The Farms

The Farms: An Allerton Folk School, offers classes, workshops, and gatherings focusing on art, health & wellness, history, nature & outdoor education, or science. All experiences value hands-on, experiential teaching and learning, and are facilitated by and for the members of the community.

See the complete fall class schedule here.