Hey everyone! My name is Tyler Davison, I'm currently a student looking to get into the Beekeeping community once I finish this spring. I suppose I'll take the time now to tell you a little bit of a story about myself... (so this ended up being a lot more long-winded than I had intended, so unless you are particularly interested, you may want to just skip to the bottom from where I've put in bold onwards)
I'm currently in Moncton for University, and once I'm done this spring I am hoping to complete my final year, giving me a Bachelor of Biology. While here, I've acquired two areas of focus: botany and ecology(particularly that of pollinators). When I had first come up here, I honestly didn't have much of a plan, I had hoped on figuring that out by the time I would graduate. In my second year is when I had started on what I believe to be my current course. Beginning my courses on Botany I had acquired an affinity for plants, and in Animal Behavior I had chosen social insects as my group of focus. During this time I was also taught some on the identification of Fungal and Bacterial growth through a Microbiology course. In the same year, I also had to deal with the undertaking of sexing and breeding fruit flies for a Genetics course.
In the next year, I had performed work in an advanced research team, with my main duty being sorting, counting, identifying, and taking care of aquatic invertebrates(~300 Stonefly larvae of various species, Riffle beetles, Dragonfly larvae, Planaria, and Daphnia, to name some of what was found if anyone was curious).
During this previous summer, to assist my parents(they run a local golf course), I had undergone training and study for Pest Management and Pesticide safety in order to require a Class III(D) Landscape Applicator permit. This made me somewhat acquainted with current pesticide use, though my personal preference is for IPM(Integrated Pest Management) when it is practical.
Finally, in this year, in my fall semester I had taken part in two courses, on Agroecology and Applied Ecology respectively, which had turned my attention more to bees in particular. In Applied Ecology, I was allowed to investigate the conservation of a particular group of animals of our choice, and I had selected Pollinators as my area of study. This had led me to probe about a little into the NSBA for information, which had drawn my attention to beekeeping. In the Agroecology course, we were given the opportunity to [in groups] form a plan in which a 20-acre lot was to be turned into an ecologically sound farmland, which while my group's plan was for the most part unremarkable, my main tasks were to incorporate beekeeping into the plan and to find inexpensive, minimum-chemical means of controlling pests.
All of these left me with a strong desire to learn more about beekeeping, and next thing I knew I had amassed volumes of beekeeping literature, or at least the extent I was able to find online in websites or PDF books. I have read content on a variety of topics, but to be honest I would like some hands on experience and to be involved in beekeeping as soon as possible.
When I am finished here in late April, I will be returning home to the Annapolis Valley, where I am aiming to find some form of work either with plant nurseries(as a Professional Gardener or Nurseryman), or with an Apiary(as a Beekeeper, technician.... anything related to get some hands on experience). From there, I am thinking of trying to set up a small apiary on the far end of our property. If there are any nurseries or apiaries here that think they could keep a newbie kicking around this year, please don't hesitate to contact me! I can give more information on my location or even a resume if anyone is interested in employment, volunteering, or just would like to talk further with me
I think I will become a regular visitor here, and I hope I don't become a nuisance with the number of questions that I have!
