VAA Melbourne Section face-to-face monthly meetings are back in 2021.
However, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to protect the beekeeping community from the virus, the VAA Melbourne Section face-to-face monthly meetings will be COVID-safe with contact details being recorded and masks being worn.
Remember that many of our beekeeping community are in higher risk groups, so your compliance with COVID-safe procedures is important.
Next Meeting:
7:30pm - 9:30pm on Thursday 25th March 2021
NEW VENUE NEW VENUE NEW VENUE NEW VENUE NEW VENUE
The March meeting of 2021 will be held at the NEW VENUE: The Avenue Church of Christ, Surrey Hills.
The NEW VENUE address is 1 The Avenue, Surrey Hills. It is located near the corner of Warrigal Rd and Canterbury Rd.
The Avenue Church of Christ is a versatile venue with good A/V and three spaces that we can use to spread out our activities. Beginner's Corner commences when you arrive in the Chapel. The shop and library are set up in the Hall.
Main activities:
From recreational beekeeper to commercial beekeeper. John Winkels is our guest speaker. John started at the Melbourne Section as a recreational beekeeper with ambitions to be a commercial beekeeper. He now runs a large scale commercial beekeeping business. Beginner's Corner for 2021. Send your photos or issues to vaamelbournesection@hotmail.com or bring your questions along on the night. Beginners Corner will be operating from as early as you get there: Don't wait until 7:30 to give John van Weeghel and his assistants a tough question!Hope to see you there.
Mike Love
Chairperson VAA Melbourne Section
7:30pm - 9:30pm on Thursday 25th February 2021
NEW VENUE NEW VENUE NEW VENUE NEW VENUE NEW VENUE
The second meeting of 2021 will be held at the NEW VENUE: Church of Christ, Surrey Hills.
The NEW VENUE address is 1 The Avenue, Surrey Hills. It is located near the corner of Warrigal Rd and Canterbury Rd.
Theme
- Everything Queens! David Briggs will be our guest speaker. David is a well known and very experienced queen breeder.
- Featuring the return of Beginner's Corner for 2021. Send your photos or issues to vaamelbournesection@hotmail.com or bring your questions along on the night.
Hope to see you there.
Mike Love
Chairperson VAA Melbourne Section
6pm - 9pm on Thursday 28th January 2021
The Collingwood Children’s Farm Apiary (CCFA) is the setting for the first Monthly meeting of 2021.
Theme
The three themes of the evening are
- Gadget Night - focusing on honey extraction and wax rendering alternatives
- Acknowledging 65 years of the VAA Melbourne Section
- Collingwood Children's Farm Apiary introduction
Raffle and Food
There will be no charge to attend this meeting. We will be running a raffle with lots of prizes like packs of wax foundation, queen vouchers, Nuc boxes and frames.
We will run a sausage sizzle with soft drinks and a fruit platter. The food will be served to you rather than you selecting from open plates.
COVID-Safe
Now that the COVID restrictions have eased, we can hold (almost) normal meetings again. We will still be practising social distancing and request that you bring and use a mask.
Many of our members are in the higher risk categories, so please keep COVID-safe. We are asking you to register prior the event so that we can ensure tracing if required.
Register please
To ensure that we are running a COVID-safe event, we will need to record the names and contact details for every attendee.
Please reply to this email address (vaamelbournesection@hotmail.com) with the names and contact numbers of yourself and anyone coming with you.
Getting there
This outdoor meeting will be in the apiary paddock.
For a map of the apiary location, please visit https://farm.org.au/visit/the-apiary/ .
At the end of St Heliers St, walk past the vehicle gate and follow the Main Yarra Trail bicycle path to the right, past the farm office entrance, past the farm cafe and about 50 metres around the curve you will arrive.
Don’t go through the Convent because you can’t get to the apiary that way.
Parking
There is a carpark on St Heliers St opposite the convent: charges about $7 for 2 hours. The nearby streets have many local parking variations. Studley Park Rd has a clearway travelling east until at least 6:30pm.
Backup Plan
If COVID rules change or the weather is looking poor, we will revert to a Zoom meeting. A final decision will be made on Sunday based on the weather forecast. A confirmation email for the Apiary or the Zoom meeting will be sent out on Sunday 24 January 2021.
We look forward to seeing you for an entertaining night, catching up with long separated friends and some new knowledge at the CCF Apiary on Sunday 24th January.
Thank you and regards,
Mike Love
VAA Melbourne Section Chairperson
Agenda
Procedures and information given at this meeting are not necessarily endorsed nor recommended by the Victorian Apiarists Association Inc nor its Melbourne Section.
Note that we are unable to provide supper but we encourage you to provide your own.
We ask you to register for the meeting. Preferably, this should be done before the meeting starts. You can also register after the meeting has started. To register, click on this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlcu2orT8jGNUpyN0t_L8SvbXCT4i2Tk8K
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email which will contain a link to the meeting.
The meeting will have a wait room: you will be admitted as quickly as we can do so.
We request that, initially, you attend the meeting with your picture and your name displayed as a courtesy to the meeting attendees.
During the meeting, I ask you to mute your microphone unless you are speaking. This will mean that there will be no background sound to interfere with the meeting's proceedings. If microphones are left on, I may mute you to stop background noise, but you may unmute yourself to speak.
To join by phone (audio only)
1. Dial this number: 7018 2005
2. When prompted by the phone, enter this Meeting ID number 868 5403 4921, followed by #
There is no need to enter a participant ID. Just enter #
Regards, Rob Kerr (VAA Melbourne Section Secretary)
Only VAA Members could attend this meeting.
Invitations to attend were emailed to all VAA Members.
Zoom Meeting on Thursday 24th September 2020
Agenda Theme: Pollination
The meeting will commence at 7:30 pm with the following agenda
The meeting will be recorded.
Procedures and information given at this meeting are not necessarily endorsed nor recommended by the Victorian Apiarists Association Inc nor its Melbourne Section.
Note that we are unable to provide supper but we encourage you to provide your own.
You will need to register for the meeting. Preferably, this should be done before the meeting starts. You can also register after the meeting has started. To register, click on this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tceivrTIqH9QVPzj6iIocbgxYL1rzyw75
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email which will contain a link to the meeting.
The meeting will have a wait room.
To participate in the meeting, you will need to have your first and last name shown.
If this is not shown, you will be asked to show it.
During the meeting, I ask you to mute your microphone unless I have allowed you to speak. This will mean that there will be no background sound to interfere with the meeting's proceedings.
To join by phone (audio only)
1. Dial this number: 7018 2005
2. When prompted by the phone, enter this Meeting ID number 890 6173 9050, followed by #
There is no need to enter a participant ID. Just enter #
Agenda Theme: Swarm Prevention and Collection
The meeting will be recorded.
Procedures and information given at this meeting are not necessarily endorsed nor recommended by the Victorian Apiarists Association Inc nor its Melbourne Section.
To join the meeting (video and audio)
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvfu2ppjMjHNaEIT0leD4qfH2RX8sG7B5R
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email which will contain a link to the meeting.To join by phone (audio only)
Until further notice the Collingwood Children’s Farm apiary will no longer be open to the public, including beekeepers’ inspecting hives, on the scheduled second and fourth Sunday of each month.