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 and foster closer relationships among beekeepers. Furthermore, we educate the public about the benefits of bees to our environment and the wonderful products of the hive.

Announcements: 

• Enrollment is open for our 2023 Beekeeping for Certification Class. The deadline to sign-up is March 15. Please see the info below for details on registration.

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 the middle of March through September. The overarching course theme will be “sustainable beekeeping in Wisconsin.” This theme 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 March 15th. Class will be held on Wednesday evenings in March and April at the UW-Extension Milwaukee County Office at 6737 W Washington St, West Allis, WI, 53214.

Beekeeping practical (in-hive) lessons begin on April 29th. 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– those interested are invited to send inquiries to Martin Ventura at mkventura@wisc.edu or sign-up through our online form by March 15.

Urban Apiculture Facts

• Keeping bees in urban areas increases vegetable production in gardens as well as seed production in native wildflower gardens.
• Honeybees are being kept in at least 5 locations in the City of Milwaukee.
• Honeybees are being kept in virtually every large urban area in the world including New York, Boston, San Francisco, Detroit, Toronto, London, and Paris.
• More people die per year from lightning (100) than from insect stings

For more information, contact Martin Ventura at 414-615-0530 or mkventura@wisc.edu.

“Helpful Resources for Beekeepers” is a compiled list of pertinent, reliable, and current

information sources.  This is a document that is flexible and will change annually with new developing information to aid Beekeepers in Southeastern Wisconsin.  In it, you can find information on resources, beekeeping associations, local beekeeping supplies, books, and more.  Click here to download your copy.

Questions?

For more information about the Urban Apiculture Institute or the Certified Beekeeper program, contact Martin Ventura at 414-615-0530 or mkventura@wisc.edu.