George,
 
Something to think about.    Get in touch with your local Botanical Garden
regarding the community bee yard.    Here in Huntsville Al, our association
has a demonstration apiary at the Huntsville Botanical Garden.   We teach
"practical Beekeeping" for the Garden.    We spend 8 hours (not all in one
sitting)
in the class room starting in January and move to the apiary in March where
the class
installs a package of bees and continue to meet on Saturday mornings
throughout the Summer to monitor their development and for hands on
training.
 
We are also planning to install an observation hive this Spring that can be
removed by members and used for class room work.    We also donate honey to
the Garden for their gift shop to sell.    Gives then needed income and
makes us more welcome guest.
 
Thanks for your post.  I got lots of good ideas from it.
 
Bob Fanning
Huntsville, AL
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> Mason;
>         Years ago there was a monthly meeting held for area beekeepers in
> this area being the North East kingdom of Vermont. The gentleman retired
> and everything stopped. I personally took the initiative to get it
started
> again and have had 3 maybe 4 meetings to date. Our last meeting for this
> year was just held with a dwindling attendance.  I have been offering
> information from this list to the members and have also offered to do
> research for the members. One request was the international queen marking
> system. The info was in hand within days.  We have elected officers now
and
> are planing a midwinter ( February ) pot luck supper with a local queen
> raiser as guest speaker. This spring I am going to try to get a few of
the
> members to donate a nuc each and start a communal yard. In this yard I am
> now thinking that it would be a great idea to try the Top Bar hive you
read
> about on the list along with the conventional langstroth hive and maybe
> some others such as a skep.  We are planning to use the organization to
> couple up with other nearby bee organizations to buy sugar and other
> supplys wholesale.
>         The organization is also going to offer information about bees to
> the local newspaper for a filler as a public promotion and awarness
> campaigne of apiculture. The organization will also work at marketing its
> members products  at fairs and through the newspaper articles. The club
> hopes to have a beenet by fair time and to open a few colonys for the
> public to see. We are also thinking of caring and sponsoring an
observatin
> hive at the three area schools science class.
>         Because of a wonderfull elderly gentleman in this neck of the
woods
> by the name of George Lund, I have been able to learn some of the skills
of
> beelining. This is the art of capturing wild bees in the field and later
> feeding and releasing them to find their hive.  At present I have one
wild
> colony in the back yard in a 2'dia cedar by 8' ht. Cut, hauled, and
> reerected from 10 miles away. Unfortunately the mite problem is
devastating
> the wild stock. At any rate we are going to have field trips of beelining
> seminars open to the public on several weekends.
>         Thats all that I can think of, we're only 4 months old. I could
use
> more ideas. I think to, that it is important that the members do the
> planning of events and you as president pull it together or do the
> deligating.
>         George