COBKA 2026 Beginners' Beekeeping Course
Registration Is Open for Our 2026 Beginner Beekeeping Course!
If you’re brand new to beekeeping or want to strengthen your foundational skills, join us for our 2026 Beginners' Beekeeping Course. This in-person course is designed to build practical knowledge and confidence for your first year of beekeeping using Langstroth hives.
Course Details
Location: The Embark Coworking Community - 2843 NW Lolo Dr., Bend, OR 97703
Date & Time: Saturday, February 7, 2026 • 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Format: Classroom instruction with hands-on equipment learning (indoors; no live bees)
Topics Covered
- Woodenware - understanding hive components
- Hive setup & location - where and how to place your bees
- Acquiring & installing bees - how to get and introduce your first colony
- Tools & protection - essential gear for safe and successful beekeeping
- Colony inspection - how to monitor hive health
- Varroa management - identifying and addressing threats to your bees
- Bee biology - how a colony functions
Who Should Attend?
This course is ideal for beginner beekeepers, and anyone with an interest in beekeeping is welcome.
About COBKA and the Course
We are a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. The course is taught by dedicated volunteer beekeepers - many of whom participate in the Oregon Master Beekeeper Program (a cooperative effort of Oregon State University Extension and the Oregon State Beekeepers Association).
Registration Information
$50 (includes a one-year COBKA membership). New memberships begin on the purchase date. Current COBKA members will have 365 days added to their existing membership expiration date.
The Embark Coworking Community:
2843 NW Lolo Dr. Bend, OR 97703
Questions: email Clyde - All questions welcomed.
If course attendees are looking for bees for 2026, the best time to order bees is January and early February, for delivery around May. Area Suppliers
Your first task - Get your feet wet and keep abreast of the 'Monthly Central Oregon Apiary Notes' archives (COBKA homepage). Very informative for beekeepers in our area.
Recommended textbooks (not required):
- The Beekeepers Handbook (Fifth edition), Diana Sammataro and Alphonse Avitabile
- Story's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees, Malcom Sanford and Richard Bonney
- Beekeeping for Dummies, Howland Blackiston
- First Lessons for Beekeeping, Keiths Delaplane
As more research is done, information distilled, techniques perfected the texts change. We would recommend getting the most recent revision of any textbooks you'd like to use.
Course Registration Policy
By registering for the 2026 Central Oregon Beekeeping Association (COBKA) Beginning Beekeeper Course, you acknowledge and agree to the following:
Personal Responsibility
You accept full responsibility for your own safety and well-being throughout your participation in the course.
Release of Liability
You agree to release and hold harmless COBKA, along with its instructors, volunteers, and affiliates, from any liability for injuries, illness, or other issues arising from your participation - except where such liability cannot be waived under applicable law.
Health and Illness
In consideration of the health and safety of all attendees, please do not attend if you are experiencing symptoms of illness, or if someone in your household or recent close contact group is currently ill.
