Maui Bee Conference

Keeping Bees Healthy in
a Changing Environment

 

with Diana Sammataro, Ph.D., Kirk Webster, Maryann Frazier, Jim Frazier, Ph.D., Lauren Rusert, Noelani Waters, Evan Ryan,
Bonnie Morse, and Jonathan Beutler

ONLINE REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. PLEASE REGISTER ON SITE AT HALE AKUA GARDEN FARM TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONFERENCE. REGISTRATION OPENS EACH DAY AT 8 AM.

 

at Hale Akua Garden Farm, Haiku, Maui
Sat. and Sun., January 30 and 31, 2016 

Optional introductory evening: Friday, Jan. 29, 6 to 9pm
Conference: Saturday, 9am to 5pm and Sunday, 9am to 4pm

Includes lunches and 15 individual workshops

$235
$135 one-day, Sat. or Sun. only
$65 Student (with full time UH-Maui student I.D.) for Sat. & Sun. conference only (does not include Fri. or Sat. evening optional events).
Some partial scholarships available.
Contact Bonnie Morse: bonnie@bonniebeecompany.com

Includes Introduction to Organic Gardening & Permaculture.

Optional Friday introductory dinner evening with most of the presenters and other attendees. $25 per person. Reserve when registering. 

Optional presentation Saturday evening by Jim Frazier:
“Chemicals in a Bee’s Life: the good, the bad, and the amazing”
Presentation starting at 5:30pm, followed by pupus, beverages and an opportunity to socialize with the speakers and other participants. 
$45 per person. Reserve your space when registering.

 

Speakers include: 
Jim and Maryann Frazier, who were on the frontlines analyzing bee hives for pesticide residues at Penn State University ~ Bonnie Morse, co-owner of Bonnie Bee & Company ~ Lauren Rusert, Apiary Section Chief for the Hawaii State Apiary Program ~ Diana Sammataro, author of The Beekeeper's Handbook and USDA-ARS researcher ~ Noelani Waters, Hawaii Apiary Program staff ~ Kirk Webster, treatment-free beekeeping pioneer and owner of Champlain Valley Bess and Queens ~ Jonathan Beutler, Hale Akua Garden Farm, organic gardening, permaculture and hive management

Diverse workshop topics include:
Hands-on hive workshops, including hive inspections, making nucs, small scale queen rearing ~ Identifying pests and diseases ~ Small hive beetle control ~ Varroa mites: what you should know ~ Beekeeping equipment ~ Hygienic testing ~ Hive products ~ Effects of fungicides ~ Organizing local groups for support and continuing education ~ Soap-making ~ Propolis products ~ And more!

Click here for a pdf of the Conference Agenda.

Room reservations at Hale Akua Garden Farm 
 Limited accommodations are available. 888-368-5305. Ask for Doris and mention you are attending the Bee Conference. Please note: Hale Akua accommodations have been blocked for the conference participants from 1/29/16 - 2/5/16 and appear on the website as booked; however, rooms may still be available. Call Doris to inquire about available rooms and rates: 888-836-5305 (toll free) or 808-572-9300 (local).

Speaker Bios

Jim Frazier received his B.S and Ph.D. degrees from the Ohio State University in 1966 and 1970. He joined Mississippi State University as an Insect Physiologist in 1970 where he taught courses in Insect Physiology and Biochemistry and Insect Behavior and supervised graduate students and research in the areas of insect behavior and chemical senses. Dr. Frazier joined the DuPont Company’s Agricultural Products Department as a senior scientist in 1981 where he did research on insect antifeedants. He joined Penn State’s Department of Entomology as head of the department in 1989 for ten years, helping to transform the department into one of the leading departments of Entomology in the U.S. For the last seven years he has performed research on the sub-lethal impacts of pesticides on honey bees together with Dr. Chris Mullin and Jim's wife, Maryann Frazier. Dr. Frazier retired in June of this year and is now Professor Emeritus enjoying his three grandchildren in Florida and the farm life in Mt. Union, PA.  Jim Frazier

Maryann Frazier received her B.S. in Agriculture Education from Penn State University in 1980. In 1983 she completed a Masters of Agriculture in Entomology, specializing in apiculture. She has worked as the assistant state apiary inspector in Maryland and for two years as a beekeeping specialist in Sudan and later in Central America. For the past 25 years she has held the position of Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Entomology at Penn State and is responsible for honey bee extension throughout the state and cooperatively across the Mid-Atlantic region. She is working collaboratively with other members of PSU Department of Entomology to understand how pesticides are impacting honey bees and other pollinators. In addition she is working with a team of U.S. and Kenyan researchers to understand the impacts of newly introduced Varroa mites on East African honey bee subspecies and helping Kenyan beekeepers become more productive.  Maryann Frazier

Bonnie Morse is the conference organizer and co-owner of Bonnie Bee & Company in San Rafael, California. A bee census survey started in Marin County in 2009 showed higher survival rates with local stock, but small scale (largely backyard) beekeepers were having difficulty sourcing enough stock to meet demand, so in 2011, she and her husband, Gary, started the business with the goal with to provide a local source of colonies with queens selected and bred from untreated stock. They also provide local beekeepers with support through classes, private lessons and hive management. Bonnie Morse

Lauren Rusert had her first experience with bees extracting honey when she was 15 years old in California. Her increasing fascination in bees continued and she began collecting honey from every state and country she visited. Years later she attended Penn State University where she worked as the Apiary Field Technician for three years in the Frazier/Mullin Pesticide Research Lab. Before graduating from Penn State, in 2010 Lauren traveled to Brazil and worked at the University of Sao Paulo with Africanized bees, creating nutritional diets for them. Upon graduating from Penn State in 2011 with a B.S. in Agricultural Sciences, Lauren moved to Hawaii to work with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture where she is still currently employed. Lauren is now the Apiary Section Chief for the Hawaii State Apiary Program (www.hawaiibee.com), traveling the Hawaiian Islands to certify queen breeders, work on bio-security, attend outreach and education events, conduct surveys, and much more.

Diana Sammataro, Ph.D., co-author of The Beekeeper’s Handbook (4^th ed. 2011), began keeping bees in 1972 in Litchfield, CT, setting up a colony in her maternal grandfather’s old bee hive equipment. From then on, she decided that her B.S. in Landscape Architecture (Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor), would not be a career, but that honey bees would. In 1978 she joined Peace Corps and taught beekeeping in the Philippines for three years. On returning, she worked at the USDA Bee Lab in Madison, WI. Eventually, Diana went to work at the A.I. Root Company as Bee Supply Sales Manager in Medina, OH. In 1991 she was accepted at Ohio State University (Columbus) to study for a Ph.D. In 1995, she worked as a post-doctoral assistant at the Ohio State University Ag. Research Center in Wooster, OH, and in 1998 at the Penn State University Bee lab. Early in 2002, she was invited to join the USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Honey Bee Research Center in Tucson AZ. Her work at the lab included research on bee nutrition problems, Varroa control, proteomics of Varroa and current pollination problems.
Diana Sammataro

Noelani Waters Growing up on the Big Island, Noe has had a long love of insects and nature, but her love of honeybees began five years ago when she first put on a suit and opened up a hive in a beginning beekeeping course at UH Hilo. The enigma of honeybees continues to captivate her and has led her to dive deeper into the study of bees and their world. Noe has a degree in Tropical Plant Science and AgroEcology with a certificate in Beekeeping from UH Hilo. She joined the Hawaii Apiary Program (www.hawaiibee.com) in October of 2014 and is now an Entomologist on the team. In her spare time, Noe builds top-bar hives and keeps a few backyard colonies; she now has a small business selling honey and beeswax-based body products called Mauka Bees.

Kirk Webster is the owner and operator of Champlain Valley Bees & Queens in Middlebury, Vermont. He produces Russian Queens and nucs, as well as honey, and his apiary has been treatment-free since 2002. Kirk uses the natural processes active in nature to maintain his hives without treatment for mites and other pests or pathogens. This humble farmer of bees, with his chemical-free operation is inspiring a new generation of beekeepers to work with the natural processes of our planet's environment rather than fight against it. Kirk Webster

 A gorgeous certified organic farm brimming with life, 

• Beautiful tropical gardens
• Delicious organic food grown on the farm
• An intro class on organic gardening
• Swimming in a 60-foot, solar-heated, saltwater pool
• Hot tubs with spectacular views

 

Rooms reservations: Prices vary
888-368-5305 and 808-572-9300 (local)
Hale Akua Garden Farm
contact@haleakuagardenfarm.com