Safety Trainings
Dickinson aims to ensure that all of our working groups associated with The Hive are managed and implmented in a safe and inclusive manner. It is important that our members are properly trained and prepared to work with the bees and/or equipment they will come across in activities with their working groups. All of our training is available online, and no training should take more than fifteen minutes. Anyone can complete the training at any time.
Completion of the training for a working group certifies you for all activities with that working group permanently. You do not need to update them each year. If at any time you want to review the training materials presented in the modules, you can do so on our page for The Hive Resources. If you join a new working group, you will need to complete the virtual module for that training. There is no training required for the Value-Added working group.
Beekeeping Training
Because this group interacts the most directly with our bees, it is worthwhile for members to know a little about them first! This training module begins with a set of short videos that will teach you bees’ importance to sustainability, our role in helping them, and the function of some of the basic beekeeping equipment that you will use when you work with the bees. Then, you will read The Hive’s brief safety guidelines and watch another video on the equipment we use to protect ourselves from the bees, who aren’t always happy when we open up their hives. Finally, to ensure that we are considerate of our local community when we take care of our bees, you will read a short document explaining Pennsylvania’s recommendations for best practices in beekeeping.
Don’t forget to complete the waiver at the end of the training so that you’re all set to join us! Watch our list serve for oppotunities to engage!
Honey Harvesting Training
This training is short and sweet, though not as sweet as the honey you’ll extract! First, we ask you to read Pennsylvania’s guidelines for honey processing so that you know how to be safe and the honey you harvest is safe and legal to sell. Then, you will read another quick document that explains how Pennsylvania allows honey to be sold in order to ensure that our marketing operations are beneficial for everyone involved. That’s all – just complete the waiver at the end of the trainings and you’re ready to harvest! We will reach out when it's time to gather!
Native Bees and Pollinators Training
Some of this group’s activities involve minor landscaping operations and equipment that we use to make our environment beautiful and bountiful for both us and our pollinator friends. For this training, you will watch a short video that explains the equipment we protect ourselves with when working near pollinators, then read safety guidelines for using tools like our string trimmer to maintain a tidy environment for them. Both of these elements are presented to make the use of this equipment easier and safer for you. After completing them, all that’s left to do is complete our waiver, then join us at our next event!