Register by Wednesday for Will County beekeeping workshop

If you’ve always yearned to be a beekeeper, sign up for the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Introduction to Successful Beekeeping Workshop.

The workshop will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday evenings from Feb. 20 to March 26. Four of the six sessions will be at Plum Creek. The two remaining sessions – on March 19 and March 26 – will be held at Monee Reservoir Visitor Center because of planned construction work at Plum Creek.

Registration is required by Wednesday. Visit ReconnectWithNature.org to register on the Event Calendar.

The cost of the program is $75 a person, and the fee includes the book “The Backyard Beekeeper” by Kim Flotum.

The workshop is for those ages 18 and older. Mike Rusnak, a member of the Will County Beekeepers Association with 18 years of experience, will teach the sessions.

Workshop sessions focus on the history and cost of beekeeping, the anatomy and life cycle of honeybees, equipment and bee stock, hive management, colony dynamics, honey production and temperature regulations.

The workshop exam will take place in the final session of week six. Weather permitting, an optional off-site field day will be planned to correspond with the installation of a package of honeybees in a Langstroth hive.