Beekeeping Apprentice Membership

A guided beekeeping season for new and beginner backyard beekeepers.

Join Beekeeping Apprentice

Beekeeping Apprentice Membership, $289/year

30-day money back guarantee

Everything you need to build confidence this season

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2026/27 Guided Beekeeping Cohort

Your membership includes the full 2026/27 season of guided training, coaching and support.

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Seasonal Beekeeping Lessons

Practical lessons released throughout the season when they're most relevant.

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Live Group Beekeeping Coaching

Join Nathan regularly to discuss what's happening in your hives right now, ask questions and learn from other members.

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Private 1:1 Beekeeping Coaching

Bring your own hive challenges, photos and questions for personalised help.

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Hive Inspection Feedback & Q&A

Get another set of experienced eyes on what you're seeing inside your colony.

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Member Community

Share what you're seeing and learn alongside other backyard beekeepers going through the same season.

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Recordings & Reference Library

Miss a session? Catch up later. Plus keep useful training and resources available when you need them.

Nathan Stewart in the apiary

Practical Beekeeping, Taught from Experience

Hi, I’m Nathan.

I started with a single hive in my backyard and plenty of questions. Over time, that grew to as many as 100 hives across several apiaries in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. I’ve tried different hive types, made plenty of mistakes and learnt most of what I know by working with bees.

Today, we help 300+ new beekeepers get started each year. Some haven’t bought their equipment yet. Others already have bees but aren’t always sure what they’re seeing when they open the hive.

Why I Created the Membership

Our hands-on workshops are a great place to start, but there’s a lot to take in during one day. Beekeeping is seasonal, and often the most useful advice is the advice you receive when you actually need it.

Most backyard beekeepers also have only one or two hives, so it can be difficult to know what’s normal. Through the membership, you’ll see what other beekeepers are finding, learn from clear photos and video inside the hive, and talk through it together during our live sessions.

From time to time, I’ll also invite experienced people I trust to share what they’ve learnt.

It’s the kind of ongoing support I would have found incredibly helpful when I started.

What You’ll Learn

1 Module

Getting Started with Beekeeping

Understand the essentials before buying bees or equipment.

2 Module

Your Hive & Equipment

Know what you really need and how everything works.

3 Module

Getting Your First Bees

Learn how to establish your colony and get through the critical early weeks.

4 Module

Managing a Healthy Hive

Inspect confidently and recognise when something needs attention.

5 Module

Practical Beekeeping Skills

Build the hands-on skills every beekeeper needs.

6 Module

Harvesting Your Honey

Know when and how to harvest without compromising your colony.

Bonus module

Varroa Management for Australian Beekeepers

Learn how to monitor, understand and manage Varroa as part of your regular hive management routine.

Included with Membership

  • Understanding Varroa and its lifecycle
  • How Varroa affects a colony
  • Monitoring methods
  • Understanding mite counts
  • When action may be required
  • Integrated Pest Management
  • Treatment approaches
  • Treatment resistance
  • Seasonal Varroa planning
  • Record keeping

Live classes

Upcoming Live Coaching

7:15pmRoom opens
7:30pmLive class begins
8:15pmTeaching finishes
8:15–8:45pmQuestions & discussion

Can’t make it live?

No problem. Every session is recorded and added to your member library, so you can watch it whenever it suits you.

Thu 1 OctModule 1, Foundations
Thu 8 OctModule 2, Hive Setup and Equipment
Thu 22 OctModule 3, Colony Acquisition and Installing Bees
Thu 5 NovModule 4, Hive Management and Bee Health
Thu 12 NovSwarm Management, group challenge
Thu 26 NovModule 5 session 1, First Hive Inspections
Thu 10 DecModule 5 session 2
Thu 28 Jan 2027Module 6, Honey Harvesting
Thu 8 Apr 2027Overwintering, group challenge
Thu 13 May 2027Season Review and renewal

All times Melbourne (AEST/AEDT). Daylight saving starts Sunday 4 October, so interstate members should check the time difference from Module 2 onward.

Imagine This…

It’s a warm spring afternoon.

You open your hive without feeling nervous. You recognise eggs. You spot healthy brood. You understand what the bees are telling you. You close the hive knowing everything looks exactly as it should.

That’s the confidence we’re here to help you build.

Is This Right For You?

You don’t need any previous beekeeping experience. This will suit you if:

  • You’re preparing for your first hive and want guidance through your first season
  • You already have bees but aren’t always confident about what you’re seeing
  • You’ve attended a workshop and would like ongoing help as the season unfolds
  • You want somewhere to ask questions before a small issue becomes a bigger one
  • You’d find it helpful to learn from what other backyard beekeepers are seeing in their hives

It may not be the right fit if:

  • You’re looking for advice on running a large commercial operation
  • You only want a course you can complete in a weekend, without ongoing guidance or live sessions

Beekeeping changes throughout the year. The membership is designed to help you learn as the season unfolds and put what you learn into practice in your own hive.

Beekeeping Apprentice Membership

$289

per year

Includes:
  • Complete beginner beekeeping course
  • Practical video demonstrations
  • Live group coaching
  • Seasonal beekeeping guidance
  • Downloadable checklists and resources
  • Bonus Varroa Management module
  • New lessons and updates
  • Member community and support

Less than $25/month, billed annually.

Join Beekeeping Apprentice

Student Stories

Real photos. Real smiles. Real beginners. Real bees.

Workshop attendees around an open hive
Nathan showing a frame to two attendees
An attendee holding a frame of bees
Two beekeepers with a smoker and brush
Lifting a frame from a HiveIQ hive
Cut comb draining after a harvest

In their own words

Hear From Our Beekeepers

Three beekeepers who started exactly where you are now.

 

Meet Scott

Scott shares two years of beekeeping experience in Hurstbridge, Victoria. He explains why he recommends beginner beekeepers buy a nucleus of bees rather than catch swarms and, as a carpenter and furniture maker, how he decorated his Langstroth hive and built a 32 frame horizontal Langstroth in his workshop.

 

Meet Mick

Mick Wilmott talks about getting into beekeeping on a rooftop terrace in the centre of Melbourne's CBD.

See how urban rooftop beekeeping is not only possible but has had a positive impact on the local ecosystem.

 

Meet Krissy

Krissy is a backyard beekeeper based in Wallan, Victoria. Working with Nathan and Beekeeping Apprentice she built her confidence, set up her Flow Hive, installed a strong colony and harvested loads of honey, all in her first year of beekeeping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to Start?

Beekeeping doesn’t need to be confusing.

Join hundreds of Australians who are learning to keep healthy, productive colonies with confidence.

Joining after the season has started?

You’re welcome to join throughout the 2026/27 season. Catch up at your own pace with recordings of earlier lessons and live sessions, then take part in the upcoming live sessions. You’ll also have access to the member community and your one-on-one beekeeping coaching, so you can get help with what’s happening in your own hive.

Beekeeping Apprentice Membership

$289

per year

  • Online Course
  • Live Coaching
  • Seasonal Challenges
  • Bonus Varroa Management module
  • Member Resources
  • Ongoing Support

Less than $25/month, billed annually.

Join Beekeeping Apprentice

Community

Join a Growing Community of Beekeepers

Beekeeping Apprentice has been helping beginner beekeepers learn, ask questions and build confidence for years. Hundreds of educational videos, posts and practical tips shared.

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