Bee Symposium 2023

The annual Bee Symposium is presented by the Environmental Institute at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and Northeast Minnesota Beekeepers Association. From vendors and information tables to guest speakers, attendees can learn everything from beginning beekeeping to overwintering techniques, including a fire cider making demonstration. Participants may also become a member with NEMNBA and receive $5 off admission.

Dr. Becky Masterman will speak on Habitat, Honey Production and History. Masterman’s enthusiasm for honey bees began during an undergraduate entomology class visit to Dr. Basil Furgala’s University of Minnesota Bee Lab apiary. In 1992, shortly after her first hive visit, she was lucky to be hired as an undergraduate technician by the new UMN Bee Lab leader, Dr. Marla Spivak. Becky went on to study the neuroethology of honey bee hygienic behavior under Dr. Spivak’s direction and obtained a PhD in 2000. After a career in real estate, Becky returned to the Bee Lab in 2012 and led the Bee Squad program from 2013-2019. Becky joined the MHPA Board as a Director in 2016 and served for 6 years. Now Becky manages her own apiaries and co-writes the Minding Your Bees and Cues with the current Bee Squad Program Director, Bridget Mendel, for Bee Culture Magazine.

Dr. Barry Brown will also speak and has extensive research and education on overwintering techniques for northern climates such as Minnesota. Based out of Saskatchewan, Dr. Brown has been building cold climate boxes and studied many different techniques to ensure the health and virility of hives.