Agenda for VBA Winter Meeting
January 29, 2019
Location: Essex Junction Fairgrounds - Blue Ribbon Pavilion
Miller North Conference Rooms A & B
Agenda for VBA Winter Meeting
January 29, 2019
Location: Essex Junction Fairgrounds - Blue Ribbon Pavilion
Miller North Conference Rooms A & B
8:30 AM Setup, Registration
9:00 AM Welcome
9:15 AM Honey Contest winners - Ron Bartemy
9:30AM Bee inspector’s Report, David Trembley, VT Agency of Agriculture
10:00 Keynote Presentation - Kristen Wolf, Champlain College and Germán Perilla, George Mason University Project Beetopia: A Cooperative Effort to Train Beekeepers in the Peruvian Amazon
11:15 AM Business Meeting
Membership Report – Scott Wilson
Secretary’s Report – Fred Putnam, Jr
Treasurer’s Report – Richard Roy
Certification Committee –Ross Conrad
Librarian’s Report – Marilyn Post
Apiary Committee and Workshop Report – Bill Mares and Jeffrey Hamelman
Fair Committee – Bill Mares
Mentor Committee and Planning Committee Reports - Scott Wilson
Grant Committee Report - Kim Greenwood
12:30 Lunch On your own
1:30 PM Workshops: Session 1
Track A: Kristen Wolf and German Perilla The Biology of the Stingless Bees
Track B: Injury Prevention in Commercial and Backyard Beekeeping Operations: Basic Ergonomics for Beekeepers, Fred Putnam, Jr Because this is a hands on class attendance is limited to 20 participants. Signup is at registration
2:30 PM Workshops Session 2
Track A: Beginning Beekeeping Topics
Track B: Communications: Making the VBA more Relevant through Better Communications - Greg Smela
3:30 Beekeeper of the Year Award
4:00 VBA Adjourn
Summer Meeting July 13, 2018
Leland and Gray High School, 2042 VT Route 30, Townshend, VT 05353
Information about the speakers
Kristen Wolf
Kristin Wolf is an associate professor at Champlain College, where she teaches a variety of environmentally- and globally-themed, interdisciplinary courses. Her research interests are in water issues, educational apiculture, and community-driven global development. Kristin is also the founder and director of the Champlain College Apiary, a living laboratory that facilitates experiential learning opportunities on campus, as well as public programming initiatives between the college and wider Burlington community. In the summers, she travels with students to Peru to collaborate with rainforest communities on sustainable beekeeping initiatives.
Germán Perilla
Germán Perilla received his Masters in Sustainable Development from George Mason University in 2012. A great portion of his career has been in Colombia where he has worked extensively with indigenous communities using honey bees to enhance sustainability and economic self-sufficiency. A founding member of an open association of beekeepers, ASOAPICUN, Germán’s reputation earned him an appointment by the Colombian Presidency to work as a consultant and training facilitator to the United Nations' Office for Displaced Persons of Violence where he taught apiculture and business skills to refugees. At the invitation of the Israeli government, Germán became a member of a select multi-national group of university-educated apiarists representing all continents (except Antarctica), to facilitate the exchange of beekeeping experience from beekeepers around the world, and to promote apiculture as a profitable enterprise. At Mason, Germán directs the Honey Bee Initiative, teaches beekeeping classes in the College of Science, conducts bee research, and spearheads HBI global entrepreneurship outreach
Educational apiculture has customarily been carried out through the state and federal tradition of the agricultural extension. As we explore new integrative methods for teaching the science and management of beekeeping to students and local communities through higher education, a meaningful connection can be made to the realm of international sustainable development work, where beekeeping has provided supplemental income, food security, and medicinal bee-products for many decades. In an attempt to merge the efforts of local outreach with sustainable development abroad, Project Beetopia combines beekeeping research, education, and service to promote individual and community empowerment, entrepreneurship, and economic self-sufficiency, while preserving natural and cultural resources. Co-founded by German Perilla, faculty member and director of George Mason University’s Honey Bee Initiative, and Kristin Wolf, faculty member and director of the Champlain College Apiary, Project Beetopia trains beekeepers in the Peruvian Amazon and works with rainforest communities to sustainably manage endemic, stingless bees as a source of medicinal and marketable bee products. Since 2015, the project has organized an annual student trip to Peru, where we share beekeeping skills and knowledge and coordinate other community-driven initiatives that members identify. These beekeeping projects, both at home and abroad, offer an invaluable lesson about the connection between bees, humans, and the landscape for our graduate and undergraduate students, and the successes of these community-driven development endeavors showcase the resourceful and innovative spirit of the communities in which they are housed.
Fred Putnam, Jr
This is a 100% hands-on session. It will cover basic body mechanics for preventing Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSIs) and inflammations (especially spine/back and shoulders.) It will cover adjustments for pushing, pulling, reaching high, lifting, and rotating (called the Ergonomics Magic Space) that can reduce the likelihood of suffering RSIs. It will also cover modifications for managing hives and for storing materials to prevent such injuries.
If you have suffered joint, spine, or repetitive strain injuries, this session is for you. And it is especially for you if you have not yet suffered these types of injuries.
Greg Smela
How can VBA effectively communicate it's message while supporting the organization's membership? We'll discuss the VBA website, social media presence, and the newly formed VBA Communications Committee's draft plan addressing these questions along with the proper use of things like press releases, logos and other marketing materials. Member feedback and participation is a must!