The Lompoc Valley Beekeepers Association (LVBKA) February meeting will feature a discussion on mead making.
The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 10, 2015 at Flying Goat Cellars Tasting Room, 1520 E. Chestnut Court, Unit A, in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. Other topics of discussion will include what bees are doing this time of year and what is going on with member hives. All are welcome to attend.
Kate Griffith, who took a two-day mead-making course at the University of California, Davis in November, will share course material to lead the discussion. Griffith and her husband have experimented with making a dry mead that has aged about 18 months. She has been impressed with other’s varietal honey dry mead and sparkling mead. The association welcomes local mead makers to share their experiences and bring mead to taste.
The Fund for Santa Barbara recently awarded a $4,000 grant to LVBKA. With grant funds, the organization seeks to purchase observation hives and package bees for outreach to local schools and Boys and Girls Clubs, to purchase books and videos to establish a library, to host special events, to distribute a newsletter and flyers, to maintain a website and to purchase supplies necessary to maintain honeybees in the Lompoc Bird, Butterfly and Bee sanctuary.
The LVBKA seeks the promotion and advancement of beekeeping through best management practices, the education and mentoring of people about honey bees and beekeeping and increasing public awareness of environmental concerns affecting honey bees.
LVBKA meetings are held monthly at Flying Goat Cellars Tasting Room. The association is involved in community education programs, swarm removal and mentoring new beekeepers. Membership is $10 per family annually.
To learn more, visit www.lvbka.org.