Allerton Park & Retreat Center

Join us on a bi-monthly basis as we observe how honey bees manage hive activity during the summer at Bee Hive Observation from April 13 to August 31. Classes will include an overview of seasonal influences, followed by a peek inside the hives to observe honey bees at work. Traditional and Flow Hives will be discussed.

Participants should wear long sleeves and pants, loose-fitting garments and no open shoes. You should also bring a protective bee veil and unscented rubber gloves.

$100/series or $20/class. Register two days before each individual class. All sales are final.

If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate, please email Olivia Bunting at owarren@illinois.edu.

About the instructor

When Maggie Wachter began her social work degree at the University of Illinois in 2008, she had no idea that she would become a beekeeper. As for honey, she kept a single jar in the back of her kitchen cabinet for recipes. Today she is a master beekeeper who never eats sugar.

Maggie received her first hive as a gift in 2008. By 2010, she was enrolled in the Master Beekeeper course at the University of Florida. From there, things happened quickly to turn her life around. In 2012, she started teaching beekeeping for Parkland Community Education and today she is a beekeeping teacher, honey judge, mead maker and master beekeeper.

She has also participated in honeybee research at the University of Illinois and the USDA.