Beginning beekeeping school 2025 (In-person)

On March 29th & 30th 2025, Williams Honey Farm will host our ninth annual Beginning Beekeeping School weekend at Green Door Gourmet! Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a beekeeper?  Are you overwhelmed by all the conflicting information found on the internet?  Do you need a little more education than just a textbook at home?  Do you want to train on the actual equipment you will be using?  We're trying to change the way beekeeping schools are taught and this is your chance to jump on board.

Special group rates available for parties of 4 or more!  Email info@williamshoneyfarm.com to sign up your group.
Have you been to our school in the past and want a refresher?? We offer all alumni a 50% discount to come and attend school a second time as a refresher!  Name and year verification will be required. 

Please note: this year we will be offering a special live honey extraction and bourbon tasting experience on Saturday night in the teaching kitchen!  Come learn and participate in a live honey extraction and get to pair that fresh honey with select varieties of local bourbons and small bites!  Signup links to this one of a kind experience will go live on Green Door Gourmet's website in January 2025. 

Unfortunately due to equipment and materials rental, there will be no refunds within 7 days of the start of your class.

All items (tickets, live bees, woodenware etc) for schools are a la carte.  If you plan to purchase woodenware for your bees, this will be an additional charge.  All woodenware will be available for pickup Saturday of Bee School if pre-ordered at least 7 days prior to school.  Additional woodenware will be available for purchase in-person however supplies are limited so pre-order is highly recommended.  Please note: only cash or check will be taken for woodenware orders at bee school.  Please plan accordingly! Simply note in the order comments how many beehive kits you are interested in buying and our vendor will get them ready for you to pick up at school.
Prices for woodenware vary per vendor but average prices for a starter kit start around  $278 and includes:
1 telescoping cover
1 solid/1 screened inner cover
1 Wooden Hive top feeder
5 medium supers with frames and foundation
1 screened bottom board (with cortex tray) plus entrance reducer
1 Mouse guard

Why we are different:

Instead of confusing you with 10 different ways to keep bees, we'll show you step by step how we keep our bees in Tennessee.  We'll have hands-on demonstrations on the exact equipment we use in our hives (you can pick up this very same equipment you have trained on at the end of the class!).  We'll walk you through the building blocks of Tennessee beekeeping and build on each lesson.  

We follow the unique teaching format of:

We tell you about the thing we're going to teach you...

We teach you that thing.

We review what we just taught you.

We'll have ample time for question and answers throughout the school.  You'll have the chance to bond with other new beekeepers and join our growing community of responsible beekeeping.  Classes will be taught by a variety of local like-minded beekeepers and will feature small group breakout sessions.  Our new Vendor will be on-site for any last minute equipment needs.

Please try and make it to our unique and intimate honey tasting experiences on Saturday night led by a honey sommelier! You and your significant other will be amazed at what we can show you.  ;) This event sells out every year and is not to be missed!

The Details:

Beginning beekeeper school: March 29th from 8am-5pm and March 30th from 12pm-6pm (please plan to attend both days). This is the perfect starting point if you're new to the beekeeping world!  Bring a pen and notepad and get ready to learn.  This is not your average bee school.

Special "Honey extraction and bourbon tasting experience" led by Honey Sommelier Jay Williams and Green Door Gourmet March 29th from 5:30-6:30!  Purchase tickets to this event separately via this link in January 2025.

Looking to buy bees (nucleus colonies) for 2025?  Click here.  Hurry, supplies are limited!  **Wherever you purchase bees try to avoid buying packages!!

The Location:

The classroom at Green Door Gourmet organic farm. **to the left of the farm store when driving in!

7011 River Rd Pike, Nashville, TN 37209

www.greendoorgourmet.com

The Options:

Everything is a la carte!  Please choose the options that work for you:

Beginning beekeeper classes (Saturday/Sunday)

Beginning beekeeping class for you and an additional family member.

1 Seat at our live honey extraction and bourbon tasting experience. 

Purchase accessories in addition to class:

You'll need to separately purchase these things by placing a note in your order comments and bringing a check to school to pay:

**When purchasing live bees, for optimal success of our students, we strongly recommend against purchasing packages of bees from anyone.  Year after year the data shows poor results using packaged bees to start your hives and as a result, we only recommend starting with nucleus colonies.