Kirsten & Michael Trynor of Flickerwood Apairy will be our guest speakers on January 5th.
Kirsten received the prestigious German Chancellor Scholarship from the Humboldt Foundation in 2006-2007, annually awarded to ten American leaders in their field. She and her husband drove over 50,000 miles throughout Western Europe to study the differences between European and American beekeeping, reporting their findings through 50+ published articles in national and international magazines. At the same time she interviewed scientists and medical doctors, gathering information for her book: Two Million Blossoms: Discovering the Medicinal Benefits of Honey.
Fascinated with the social complexity of a honey bee hive, Kirsten earned her PhD in biology from Arizona State University. While a grad student, she spent almost a year in Avignon, France in the lab of Dr. Yves Le Conte as a Fulbright Fellow. She currently investigates how pesticides impact honey bee health for the University of Maryland in the lab of Dr. vanEngelsdorp and is the editor of Bee World, published by the International Bee Research Association.
Michael is a commercial and fine art photographer, whose work has appeared in national and international magazines. The head of National Geographic asked him to teach their photographers his photographic knowledge. His incredible macro images of bees and flowers bring the world of beekeeping to life. Combining his skills in beekeeping with photography, he has documented the life of bee breeders, beekeepers and bee scientists around the world. A selection of his work is available online at www.flowerslovebees.com and www.idfineart.com. He is an avid speaker and a great teacher, able to communicate complex ideas in simple steps. He has taught professional photographers around the world. His photography classes are informative, entertaining and always well attended.
Kirsten and Michael will be presenting "Smart, Simple Beekeeping" and "Over the Atlantic : European Intensive Hive Management"
In German, there is a popular saying “Wieso einfach, wenn auch umstandig”, which means why take the simple route, when there is a complicated one. As humans, we gravitate toward complicated answers. Maybe we’re drawn to complex solutions, because if it’s difficult and we fail, it’s understandable and we don’t feel bad. But beekeeping need not be complicated, difficult or complex. Learn to keep healthy hives in an easy, carefree way so you enjoy your hives and feel confident working your bees.
Commercial beekeepers in Europe often manage only 200 to 500 hives, yet make a comfortable living. We worked at the Professional Bee Institute in Celle, Germany, learning how to manage hives. The institute loses just 4% of their colonies annually. Discover how they intensely manage their hives to keep them healthy and productive.
Their awesome books: "Simple Smart Beekeeping" & "Two Million Blossoms" will be available for purchase and autographs.