Floyd County beekeeper and appointed “bee whisperer” Mark Chorba will be at the Reynolds Homestead on Thursday, April 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. to provide a free Introduction to Beekeeping Workshop. When people think of hobbies, certain things come to mind, like stamp collecting, painting or knitting. Few people, however, think of beekeeping. After all, who wants to be responsible for literally thousands of creepy, crawly, flying insects that are known to have the ability to sting? If you take the time to learn more about the hobby, chances are you might develop an interest. Keeping bees, when properly done, can be a unique and highly rewarding pastime. Not only can beekeeping be entertaining and educational, when done on the correct scale it is also often a profitable hobby. Not only will your bees create honey and other products for you to harvest, but if you garden your fruit and vegetable harvest will also flourish, and the environment as a whole benefits. It is a safe and easy hobby to start, and Chorba is just the person to help you on your way. His presentation will cover the basics of getting started in beekeeping—equipment, types of bees and hives, hive management, diseases and pests, and other appropriate topics will be covered. This workshop is being offered free as Chorba and the Reynolds Homestead are committed to helping encourage sustainability and a healthy environment. Seating will be limited to, however, so please register so handouts can be prepared. To register, call (276) 694-7181 or email program manager Lisa Martin at martinlm@vt.edu. [caption id="attachment_1715" align="alignnone" width="225"]<a href="http://www.mountainmedianews.com/enterprise/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Beekeeping.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-1715"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1715" src="http://www.mountainmedianews.com/enterprise/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Beekeeping-225x300.jpg" alt="“Bee Whisperer” Mark Chorba will offer a free beekeeping workshop at the Reynolds Homestead." width="225" height="300" /></a> “Bee Whisperer” Mark Chorba will offer a free beekeeping workshop at the Reynolds Homestead.[/caption]
