SR 
“Ekonaut” and its partners are organizing the "BeeConnected" school of urban beekeeping again this season, for the third time. “BeeConnected” is intended for everyone who wants to start getting acquainted with the world of honey bees and ethical beekeeping techniques that are in harmony with nature.
Students will be led through the theoretical part by Dr. Mica Mladenovic, an experienced professor of beekeeping that taught at the Faculty of Agriculture before retirement, while the practical part will be held by Sladjan Simonovic and Stanko Rajic from the Belgrade Association of Beekeepers. who are professional beekeepers with many years of experience. The theoretical part is attended online via the Zoom platform, while the practical part will take place in small groups at different locations throughout Belgrade and the surrounding area, such as: New Belgrade, Kosutnjak, Vranic, the Zvezdara forest… The school program monitors seasonal work in beekeeping from the second half of May through to October, with a summer break, so that each of the participants will go through all the activities in the apiary during a season.
Since this is the third generation of the program, we can proudly say that this year we have built with this project, a small, local community of people who do not see beekeeping as a way to earn money, but are rather motivated to do it in accordance with nature, making sure that their beekeeping activities don’t negatively impact the local biodiversity. In the previous editions of this unique program for training beekeepers in Serbia, 50 trainees were taught to start their own colonies, and many remain in contact with their mentors to improve their knowledge and beehives.
All those interested in participating in the program can apply until May 5, 2021 via the following LINK.
Selected participants will be notified on the status of their application via e-mail no later than May 6, 2021.
The curriculum consists of 18 hours of theory and 26 hours of practice with mentors. Unemployed people can apply for the subsidy program this year as well. The number of places for the beekeeping school is limited to 30. It’s possible to attend only lessons from the theoretical part via Zoom for people who are not from Belgrade, or are not able to attend the practical lessons. This part of the program is also open to all people from abroad who speak our language.
After filling in the admission form, interested candidates will receive a more detailed plan of the lectures and practice with dates and locations via e-mail, as well as other conditions for attending the school of urban beekeeping and what is necessary to have when it comes to equipment for working safely in the field. All participants who pass 80% of the theoretical and practical training will receive a certificate of completion from the school.
„BeeConnected“ is a pioneering project in the field of urban ecology in our country, initiated by the “Ekonaut” association and the “Nova Iskra” creative hub,, which has been dealing with the topic of local and global bee endangerment for five years now. In order to change the attitude towards these noble insects, a different approach to education in beekeeping is needed, as well as the practice of the beekeepers themselves. Apart from raising awareness about the endangerment of honey bees, which is how the project started, our focus is also on preserving the rich biodiversity of solitary and other bee species, of which there are about 850 in Serbia alone, while there are about 250 in Belgrade.
one of the partners of the project, as well as individuals and other entities that have the desire and necessary prerequisites to build a beehive with professional help and maintenance of the “BeeConnected” team. This model of beekeeping is recognized in many developed urban areas as a good way to enrich local biodiversity, but also as a socially responsible campaign that attracts public attention and sensitizes people to environmental problems. Our team has developed a special manual with a list of 100 plants that serve as sources of pollen and nectar for bees, and everyone can choose for their space what suits it the most when it comes to the conditions needed in order to contribute to the survival of all pollinators, not just bees.
The school’s program was realized with the support of the Secretariat for Environmental Protection of the City of Belgrade within the "City Gardens for City Bees" project.
