Spring into Action!
BCHPA Semi Annual Meeting
March 22-23, 2024
Delta by Marriot Hotel
Kamloops, BC
Welcome to our Semi Annual Event
We've designed a two-day event to give you the knowledge and practical skills to launch your beekeeping season. Here's an opportunity to learn some of the latest insights and best practices from the experts including three Provincial Apiculturists. Friday will include our business meeting plus presentations from our association's partners and an evening social. Saturday will feature 5 presentations with guided discussion times all focused on practical spring management skills. Please join us in Kamloops!
Speakers
05
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Geoff Wilson
Apicultural Specialist - Saskatchewan
Geoff grew up in rural southwestern Ontario. He started beekeeping at the age of 15 helping a small scale neighbor beekeeper with his 100 colony operation and got his own colonies the next year. He has been involved with the bee industry ever since. Geoff obtained both his B.Sc. (Agr.) and M.Sc. from the University of Guelph where he studied agrology as an undergraduate and bee health and genetics in graduate school, while paying his way through school by working for a large commercial beekeeper in southern Ontario. After a few years of working with the Ontario Beekeepers Tech Transfer Program and then commercial beekeeping in Eastern Ontario, Geoff moved to Saskatchewan to work with the Ministry of Agriculture. Geoff has been Saskatchewan Provincial Specialist, Apiculture since 2009, with the primary goal of helping beekeepers to maintain bee health and keep a healthy beekeeping industry. He keeps approximately 100 colonies plus nucs with his wife for breeding and trialing new products and beekeeping techniques.
Samantha Muirhead
Apicultural Specialist - Alberta
Born and raised in Alberta, Samantha graduated from the University of Alberta in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science – Specialization in Animal Biology. Throughout her degree, she developed a keen interest for everything insect and parasite related. In 2004, the Alberta government hired her to work with her favorite insect as an apiculture research assistant.
Since then, she has been a part of countless research projects and surveillance programs aimed at bee health in Alberta. Projects ranged from Nosema control methods, to Varroa mite treatments, to supplementary feeding and honey quality. She also worked as an apiculture inspector for the province, ran her own colonies for a number of years, and supervised the Bee Health Assurance Team until 2019 when she became the Provincial Apiculturist for Alberta.
Jeff Lee
Honey Bee Zen Apiaries
Jeff Lee is a commercial beekeeper and co-owner of Honey Bee Zen Apiaries Ltd and Swan Valley Honey Ltd, which supplies honey to more than 40 stores in British Columbia. He completed the Master Beekeeper course at UBC. A former political and investigative newspaper reporter, Jeff has more fun now with their bees. He is the BCHPA’s interim director for the Canadian Honey Council and is a past vice-president. He is also chairman of the Fields Forward Society, which operates Creston’s Food Innovation Centre for agricultural producer startups.
Amanda Goodman Lee
Honey Bee Zen Apiaries
Amanda is the co-owner of Honey Bee Zen Apiaries and Swan Valley Honey in the Creston Valley. She is a Master Beekeeper and worked as a beekeeping technician for the University of B.C. on several research projects. She is a former advertising executive with PostMedia and is also a member of Women Leading The Way. Currently, Amanda is the Chair of the Food Action Coalition that takes care of the Farmer’s Market and Harvest Share for food recovery and is a Trustee of the Boone Hodgson Wilkinson Trust Fund that supports education regarding honeybees and to support apiculture research. In the summer if you don’t see her at the farmer’s market you will find her out in the field with her bees.
Nuria Morfin
BC Technology Transfer Program Lead
Technology Transfer Program Lead
Nuria comes to us with fourteen years of experience as an extensionist – acting as a link between research and industry. She has expertise in diverse areas, including Integrated Pest Management (IPM), selective breeding, and honey bee pathology. Nuria has collaborated in a number of research projects in North America, has published in reputable scientific journals, and has been an instructor of IPM, queen rearing, and honey bee biology courses.
Nuria got her PhD from the University of Guelph – Honey Bee Research Centre, where she later worked as a researcher studying the impact of stressors on health and behaviour, analyzing the mechanisms behind behavioral immunity, and studying the lipidome and metabolome profile of bees. Nuria also worked as a Bee Inspector for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Throughout her career, she has been actively contributing to apicultural research and industry.
Agenda
Friday, March 22, 2024
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Business Meeting
8:30 am
8:30 am
Session 2 - Spring Managment
12:00 pm
Lunch
1:00 pm
Session 1 - Partners Presentations
10:30 pm
Session 3 - Nuc Production & Splitting
12:00 pm
Lunch
4:30 pm
Dinner on Your Own
1:00 pm
4:30 pm
Speaker Q & A
5:00 pm
End of Day
Session 4 - Pest & Diseases
Delta Hotel Kamloops
Our recently renovated downtown hotel has been thoughtfully designed with the essential needs of a frequent traveler in mind. Our spacious hotel rooms and suites offer premium bathrooms, plush bedding, inspiring workspaces and free Wi-Fi. For relaxation our hotel offers a state-of-the-art fitness centre featuring a 24-hour gym and a heated rooftop pool. The special hotel rate for our event is $169. Contact their in-house reservation desk to register with this rate.
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Lorrie Katchmar (Reservations)
1-250-372-2281 ext 1601
Full Conference
March 22 & 23, 2024
$259
Includes:
Friday Business Meeting with Lunch
Friday Evening Social
Saturday - Education Day
Saturday Lunch
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Education Day
March 23, 2024
$179
Includes:
Saturday - Education Day
Saturday Lunch
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Live Streaming
March 23, 2024
$79
Includes:
Friday Business Meeting
Saturday - Education Day
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Education Day
March 23, 2024
Student - $69
Includes:
Saturday - Education Day
Saturday Lunch
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Full Conference
March 22 & 23, 2024
Student - $119
Includes:
Friday Business Meeting with Lunch
Friday Evening Social
Saturday - Education Day
Saturday Lunch
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Live Streaming
March 23, 2024
Student - $25
Includes:
Friday Business Meeting
Saturday - Education Day
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Note: Prices above are discounted for BCHPA Members.
Members of the public are welcome to attend for a small premium.
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