I started my beekeeping journey going it alone. I had a hive kit. I bought a package of bees. What I did not have was a mentor. I watched countless YouTube videos and read countless articles. I found that they were either too basic or assumed I had resources (drawn comb, extra frames of brood, etc.). The stewardship of my bees was more a constant guessing game than actually knowing what I was doing. When I was observing my hives, I did not know the difference between what was normal and what was a current or potential problem. I was frequently discovering the problems too late for me to fix effectively. By the time I recognized something as a problem, it was fairly common to find that the steps I should have been taking to address it were no longer going to be effective to help or save my bees. Ultimately, my colonies paid the price. My survival rate for four colonies in the first two years of my beekeeping adventure was zero. This failure rate is common and the primary reason hobby beekeepers give up beekeeping. It is also the driving factor behind me organizing and promoting the Beekeeping Club of Southeast Idaho.

Why don’t people get mentors? I believe there are several common reasons. People don’t think to get one. People don’t know how to find one. New and novice beekeepers believe that they will be able to figure it out on their own. Some people worry about imposing on someone else’s time. And some just feel they are too busy to try to coordinate with someone else regarding beekeeping.

I cannot overstate how much faster new and novice beekeepers will accelerate their understanding of basic beekeeping practices and problem-solving by having a mentor as opposed to figuring it out as they go along. BCSI exists to provide education and assistance. And, that comes in many different forms. The Facebook Group is a place to ask questions of other members. It is also a location where information will be posted to remind or educate members about topics that are relevant to beekeeping at that point in time. BCSI meetings are designed to provide education for tasks that are specific to the current and coming month, to provide education about beekeeping in general, and to provide an opportunity for a live Question and Answer session (usually the last hour of the meeting) where people can ask experienced beekeepers questions. If you are wanting more one-on-one assistance, please use the Facebook Group page to message group experts or the group as a whole. Personal mentoring can be as limited as addressing a specific matter you want help with or as extensive as having someone who will be your co-pilot on hive inspections until you are comfortable or someone you can talk to directly about beekeeping. And, if you just want to visit a beehive and watch a beekeeper working with the bees, you can ask if anyone is willing to let you do that.

So . . . BCSI exists to educate and assist people regarding beekeeping. Please, access and use it. If you are an experienced beekeeper, please join BCSI (if you have not already) and share your knowledge and experience with others in our area.

– Scott Andrew, Club Organizer