Urban Apiculture Institute

The mission of the Urban Apiculture Institute is to promote honey bees and healthy beekeeping practices in Milwaukee County.

We train beekeepers in practical, successful, and responsible urban beekeeping practices in the Upper Midwest. We also conduct public outreach to educate the general public about the ecology of honeybees and other essential pollinators present on the Milwaukee County landscape.

Announcements: 

• Enrollment is closed for the 2024 Beekeeping for Certification Class. To reserve a spot for the coming year, please fill out this Google form.

Beekeeping For Certification Class: 

This intensive beekeeping course offered by the UW-Extension Milwaukee County Urban Agriculture Program is designed to equip beginning beekeepers with the knowledge, practice, and systems thinking skills required to successfully and sustainably manage honeybees in the Upper Midwest. The course runs from April until September. The overarching course theme will be “sustainable beekeeping in Wisconsin.” This will be reflected in the techniques and approaches modeled by instructors, including rigorous research-based approaches to managing Varroa destructor, a serious pest of honeybees.

Four classroom lectures will cover essential background topics on ecology, honeybee biology, and management. Once the weather warms, students will practice beekeeping techniques over the course of 12 Saturday morning practical lessons in the UW Extension bee yard. Throughout the course, students will also engage with the science of bees and other pollinators as members of ecosystems, including discussions of insect decline, native insect species, and ways to support the presence of pollinators in urban landscapes.

Classroom instruction begins in late March and is held Wednesday evenings throughout April at the UW-Extension Milwaukee County Office at 6737 W Washington St, West Allis, WI, 53214.

Beekeeping practical (in-hive) lessons begin in early May. These hands-on lessons will be held every other Saturday until the end of September at the Extension Milwaukee County Bee yard at Firefly Ridge Community Garden in Wauwatosa. Address and parking instructions will be provided during class.

The course fee is $380 and does not include protective garments. Enrollment is limited.For more information, contact Martin Ventura at 414-488-7720 or mkventura@wisc.edu.

Questions?

For more information about the Urban Apiculture Institute or the Certified Beekeeper program, contact Martin Ventura at 414-488-7720 or mkventura@wisc.edu.