Travis County Beekeepers Association is committed to educating both beekeepers and the public about the importance of honeybees. One way we do this is by curating interesting programs and hosting experienced speakers for our meetings. All meetings are free and open to the public. We hope you enjoy this year’s schedule of speakers and topics!
TCBA meetings are usually held on the FIRST Monday of each month. We will also try to have our meetings on Zoom whenever possible.
All meetings will be held at Zilker Botanical Garden in the Auditorium at the Gift Shop unless you see a different location listed for a specific meeting. ADDRESS: 2220 BARTON SPRINGS RD, AUSTIN TX 78746
2022 Upcoming Meeting Dates:
Monday Dec 5 – 7-9pm – Holiday Meeting – speaker/topic TBA
Monday Nov 7 – 7-9pm – speaker/topic TBA
Monday Oct 3 – 7-9pm – speaker/topic TBA
Monday SEPT 5 – Labor Day – Meeting CANCELLED for LABOR DAY
FRI-SAT-SUN – AUG 19-21 – Educational Seminar with Michael Bush
Monday Aug 1 – Meeting at Zilker Botanical Garden 7-9pm (part of meeting will be planning for the Educational Seminar on AUG 19-21) We will also discuss pollen feeding for the drought we are in and queen behaviors and re-queening.
Monday July 4 – No Meeting for 4th of July holiday
Monday June 6- Meeting 7-9pm – Topic is Honey Extracting and Feeding for a Summer Dearth. We are meeting in person at Zilker Botanical Garden, and the ZOOM info is below:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/86908017454?pwd=TTV1bjRQaVBvVGc0TEY2dWcrV3B1QT09
Meeting ID: 869 0801 7454
Passcode: 9DVajv
Monday May 2nd – Cancelled due to closure at the meeting space in Botanical Garden for private event. – See y’all in June!
Monday April 4th, 2022 – 7:00-9:00pm – Speaker: Grai St. Clair Rice from NYC
Topic: Comb and Nest Architecture ~ Looks at how honeybees construct comb using their unique physiology. It is both an act of community building and a feat of precise, structural integrity that is invaluable for beekeepers to comprehend. Knowing how honeybees transform crystalline beeswax into the dynamic skeletal structure of this super-organism is intriguing, and understanding how contemporary beekeeping can both help and hinder, has the capacity to transform simple habits into complex appreciation.
Grai St. Clair Rice is an organic beekeeper, with 18 years of experience, as well as writer/
photographer based in NYC. After ten years as an Editor/Producer at CNN’s New York Bureau, and many years before in the film, art and publishing worlds, Grai’s focus turned to beekeeping and writing. With her love and knowledge of honeybees she is able to use her talents to encourage a better understanding and appreciation of honeybees by the public at large, and help nurture beekeepers to embrace a gentle
spiritual approach to their care.
In 2005, Grai co-founded HoneybeeLives as an organization dedicated to encouraging a strong honey bee population, co-teaching in-depth workshops with an Organic, approach.Grai is the founder of the contemporary Ulster County Beekeepers Association. She has been involved in the initial set up for the Steep Rock Honey Project in Washington, CT and Honey Hollow Bee Preserve on NYS Parks land in Staatsburg, NY. Grai became a badge carrying Citizen Pruner in NYC in 2013.
Monday March 7th, 2022 – 7:00-9:00pm ~ Topic: Catching Swarms Presented by Brandon Fehrenkamp, Owner of Austin Bees (Bee Removal Expert)
https://www.austinchronicle.com/binary/ccce/food_feature7.jpg
Monday February 7, 2022 – 7:00-9:00pm
- Topic: Getting Started as a NEW BEEKEEPER – We will go over what you need to buy, how to get your bees and boxes and set up your apiary. Information on county requirements for setting up bees for AG valuation will also be included.
Monday January 3, 2022 – 7:00-9:00 pm – MEETING CANCELLED
2021 Upcoming Meeting Dates:
Monday December 6, 2021 – 7:00-9:00pm – In Person – Xmas Social and Wax Making at Zilker Botanical Garden
This coming Monday night, December 6, 2021 for our HOLIDAY Meeting we will host Master Beekeeper Dodie Stillman for a HANDS ON MAKER class using beeswax. Its always free to attend our meetings, but there’s a $5 CASH fee per person to make products if you want to participate, that will just cover the cost of the beeswax and jewelry parts, etc. We will make a minimum of 3 things, maybe more depending on how many folks show up. These are PERFECT Christmas gifts, etc. AND you will have a great time. Meeting is at Zilker Botanical Gardens at our USUAL meeting space, just let them know at the gate that you are there for the beekeeper’s meeting. It’s from 7-9pm and we gotta be cleaned up and OUT of the gate by 9:30pm. If you want to make products, PLEASE RSVP to the facebook event so we know how many people to bring supplies for. We will be ready for 20 unless we have more RSVPS, so be sure to put down how many in your family will be making stuff on the RSVP. See y’all there!
Free to attend, but if you want to make some sweet xmas gifts it’s $5 per person cash to cover materials! 
December 6th 7pm at Zilker Botanical Garden Meeting room. PLEASE RSVP so we have enough beeswax and supplies! Thanks!
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Monday November 1, 2021 – 7:00-9:00pm – Zilker Botanical Garden –
Please join us for our November 1st TCBA meeting, in person!
We are finally back at Zilker Botanical Garden!!!
We will be covering a honey sensory class and also winter prep. Although the Zilker website mentions registering to visit, you do not need to register for the meeting- just come on out. Masks are required at Zilker Botanical Gardens and they may be performing a temperature check. If you are more comfortable, we will be offering a zoom online version too, as long as all goes smoothly.
Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82810015217
Info on Zilker Botanical Garden: https://zilkergarden.org/
Monday October 4, 2021 – 7:00-9:00pm – IN PERSON meeting at Texas Honey Bee Farm – SW Austin off 290 West. (9874 Wier Loop Circle; Austin, TX 78736) – Class will not be on zoom. It’s proprietary information and its experiential learning that you need to be here to experience. :). Class will be offered again at the TBA state conference in Nov on Saturday Nov 6th in Galveston.
Tanya Phillips will present on the topic of HONEY SENSORY ANALYSIS which is a way of looking for defects, sensory pleasantness, geographical and botanical origin in a variety of “known regional honeys”. This process is just one part of how they analyze honey in Italy and other areas of Europe in order to prevent “fake” or adulterated or even just mislabeled honey from being sold for human consumption in their countries. It is also used in the judging process for honey shows in Italy. So taste and entering your honey into the right category play an important role in the competition, unlike in the US Honey shows. We will do some hands on sensory awareness training and learn a little bit about the process of how to document both the tastes and flavors in your honey.
Monday September 6, 2021 – 7:00-9:00pm – Zoom Meeting
We realize that it falls right on Labor Day, but if you are able to join us, we will have you covered! We will have a Back to School- Back to the Apiary Resource Night. Bring your questions on how your hives are doing and feel free to join us if you are just getting started! Join us through zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89135787756
Monday August 2, 2021 – 7:00-9:00pm – IN PERSON MEETING at Texas Honey Bee Farm
Topic: We will be demo-ing Honey Extraction 🙂
Speaker: Jesus Soto has over 50 years of experience keeping bees for honey production. He began his career in Bolivia and was there when the Africanized bees entered the country and changed the face of beekeeping. He moved to Southern California, got his master’s degree in Entomology and kept bees for more than 30 years in Malibu and other coastal areas where he managed hives for honey production and sold thousands of pounds of honey.
Monday July 5, 2021 – 7:00-9:00pm- This meeting will be via ZOOM online:
Monday June 7, 2021 – 7:00-9:00pm – In person meeting at Texas Honey Bee Farm in SW Austin – 9874 Wier Loop Circle, Austin, TX 78736 – Our meeting topic is A Year’s Work of the Beekeeper and our speaker is:
American Honey Princess Virginia Allen
Virginia is the daughter of David and Mary-Ann Allen of Richardson, Texas. She is a freshman at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor studying organizational leadership. She is an active leader in her local Fire Explorers program and hopes to serve as a paramedic or flight nurse. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering at church, reading, cross stitching, and rock climbing. As the 2021 American Honey Princess, Virginia serves as a national spokesperson for the American Beekeeping Federation, a trade organization representing beekeepers and honey producers throughout the United States. The American Honey Queen and Princess speak and promote in venues nationwide, and, as such, Princess Virginia will travel throughout the United States in 2021. Prior to serving as the American Honey Princess, Virginia served as the 2020 Texas Honey Queen.
PAST MEETINGS:
Monday May 3, 2021 – 7:00-9:00pm – Zoom meeting with Dallas Beekeeper Ryan Geisecke covering IPM Management
Monday April 5, 2021 – In Person Meeting at Texas Honey Bee Farm – SW Austin – 9874 Wier Loop Circle, Austin, TX 78736 – EARLY START – 6:00pm-7:00pm – Social Hour, Snacks, Meet the Beekeepers – 7pm Meeting (Speaker TBA)
Monday – March 1, 2021 – Zoom Meeting – 7:00pm-8:30pm – Speaker – Tanya Phillips – Spring Preparations
Monday – February 1, 2021 – Zoom Meeting – 7:00pm-8:30pm – Guest Speaker – Jimmie Oakley
Monday – January 4, 2021 – No meeting
COVID-19 UPDATES: Zilker Botanical Garden and Gift shop has been closed indefinitely for in-person meetings for all clubs.
ONLINE MEETINGS ARE AVAILABLE LIVE VIA ZOOM until we can resume regular meetings. We will send out updates and invites via email to all members each month. If you are a paid member and have not received the email invitations, please email us ASAP – info (at) traviscountybeekeepers (dot) org
*Occasionally topics will change or be shifted in order to accommodate special guest speakers.