EVENTS/CALENDAR

UPCOMING EVENTS:

EVENT DATES (SUMMARY) – scroll down for more details

18 JANUARY 2025 (Mounts Botanical Garden)
10 – 12.30 For the love of bees and honey tasting

15 MARCH 2025 (Bonnet House)
FAMILY DAY

12 APRIL 2025 (Bonnet House)
10 – 12.30 Bees in our Bonnet

3 MAY 2025 (Flamingo Gardens)
1.30 – 3.30 All about Bees

MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN: Saturday 18 JANUARY from 10 – 12.30 For the love of bees; AND honey tasting: more details shortly

Saturday 12 April 2025, BONNET HOUSE*
Bees in our Bonnet
April 12, 2025 @ 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
https://www.bonnethouse.org/event/bees-in-our-bonnet/

“Bees in our Bonnet” at Bonnet House with Joanna Diamond
This exciting class will cover topics ranging from little-known but fascinating facts about honey bees, and why they are so important as pollinators, and we will discuss why, instead of us being afraid of bees, they should be afraid of us.  We will dispel myths and misconceptions about bees, talk about why honey bee populations are declining, the facts behind swarms and swarming, and what you can do to help bees.

We will go behind the scenes of live bee removals and will discuss what is involved with being a beekeeper; in particular, if you’re afraid of bees, can you still become a beekeeper?  We will have a short overview of Orchid Bees, followed by an introduction to the wonderful world of honey, including how and why bees make honey, why the honey industry is so controversial and filled with fraud, and what honey is best.

We will wrap up the event with a honey-tasting session. Raw wildflower honey will be available to buy after class, as well as Orchid Bee Feeders and Honey Bee Revival Kits for those poor, tired bees you see on the ground.

About Instructor Joanna Diamond:
Born and raised in South Africa, Joanna’s goal is to save as many honey bees as she can. Having volunteered for four and a half years for a bee Rescue & Removal charity, she has assisted with countless bee removals, is a registered Beekeeper, and has bee hives in her garden (which is a Certified Wildlife Habitat). She works closely with a South Florida beekeeper and live bee removal specialist whom she highly recommends for live bee removals. Joanna’s message is that honey bees are our best friends and full-time unpaid employees, working tirelessly for our benefit for no reward, they are misunderstood and feared unnecessarily, struggling to survive and we need to do everything we can as a global community to help them.

Saturday, April 12
10:00 am-12:30 pm
Island Theater
$25 members/$35 non-members (All sales are final and non-refundable)
CLICK ON THIS LINK TO REGISTER

SATURDAY 3RD MAY 2025, FLAMINGO GARDENS
Saturday May 3rd at 1:30pm-3:30pm.
2 hour presentation – MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW

PREVIOUS EVENTS

CANCELLED DUE TO HURRICANE MILTON
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Saturday OCTOBER 12TH 2024: “Is Beekeeping right for YOU?” at BONNET HOUSE, 10 – 12.30
https://www.bonnethouse.org/event/is-bee-keeping-right-for-you/

Many people want to keep bees, they think they can just put them in a box and that’s it – but being a responsible beekeeper is so much more complicated and involved – come and learn the facts of Bee Keeping.

About Instructor Joanna Diamond:
Born and raised in South Africa, Joanna’s goal is to save as many honey bees as she can. Having volunteered for four and a half years for a bee Rescue & Removal charity, she has assisted with countless bee removals, is a registered Beekeeper, and has bee hives in her garden (which is a Certified Wildlife Habitat). She works closely with a South Florida beekeeper and live bee removal specialist whom she highly recommends for live bee removals. Joanna’s message is that honey bees are our best friends and full-time unpaid employees, working tirelessly for our benefit for no reward, they are misunderstood and feared unnecessarily, struggling to survive and we need to do everything we can as a global community to help them.
CANCELLED DUE TO HURRICANE MILTON
————————————————
Saturday, October 12
10:00 am-12:30 pm
Island Theater
$25 members/$35 non members

Saturday 14 SEPTEMBER 2024, FROM 10 – 12.30: For the love of bees at MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN: IT WAS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!! Lots of people showed up, some really early so we had some great bee conversations before the show started! Thank you everyone who attended, and thank you April for her amazing support! Sadly, we used the very last honey from my wonderful waterfront bee hive (as part of the honey tasting session), but not to worry, I will replace that tasting with a brand new raw honey from one of my upcoming harvests!
https://www.mounts.org/event/for-the-love-of-bees-honey-tasting-presentation-with-joanna-diamond/

531 North Military Trail
West Palm Beach, Fl 33415
Mounts Office: (561) 233-1757

IS BEEKEEPING RIGHT FOR YOU?

https://www.bonnethouse.org/event/is-bee-keeping-right-for-you/
This event was WONDERFUL!!! What a great crowd it was, lots of great interaction, questions, and after 2 and a half hours everyone was still awake! That’s a REAL success in my book! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME AND REMEMBER – if you have any questions, send me an email or text me – let’s get ready for bee season 2024! All the people who are going to become beekeepers – IT’S AWESOME! BEST THING YOU’LL EVER DO!
Saturday, October 14
10:00 am-12:30 pm
Island Theater
$25 members/$35 non members

EARLIES EVENTS IN THE YEAR: The Sweet Life of Honey Bees & Honey Tasting: WHAT A FABULOUS EVENT! Thank you again to APRIL for arranging everything and her tremendous support for all bees, nature and wildlife – she is absolutely AMAZING. There was a really great response, a really great group of people, tremendous questions, and lots of interest in our Orchid Bee friends too! Thank you to everyone who attended, and for their interest in our greatest friends, the honey bees.

https://www.mounts.org/event/the-sweet-life-of-honey-bees-honey-tasting-with-joanna-diamond/

SATURDAY: August 26th, 2023, from 10 am to 12 noon

$25 for members; $35 for nonmembers (includes full Garden admission). Registration is required; class size is limited to 25 adults; all classes are nonrefundable.

Enter the enchanting and fascinating world of honey bees, discover little known but intriguing facts about them, and learn how you can help our tiny, humble, hardworking friends to help us. Find out what challenges they face, dispel myths, and find out why beekeeping is so mesmerizing. Delve into the incredible edible world of honey and explore other magical bee products. Meet charming little Orchid Bees, and enjoy an in-depth honey tasting session. I will have local raw honey for sale after class, as well as a Orchid Bee Feeders and other fun bee-related items like the Bee and Butterfly Revival Kit.

VENUE

MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN: 531 North Military Trail, West Palm Beach, FL 33415 United States

Phone: 561 233-1757

website: https://www.mounts.org/event/the-sweet-life-of-honey-bees-honey-tasting-with-joanna-diamond/

HEAL THE PLANET DAY: SUNDAY 30 April 2023, 10 am to 4 pm https://healtheplanet.com/events/heal-the-planet-day/ will take place in Esplanade Park, Ft. Lauderdale (400 SW 2nd St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312) from 10 am to 4 pm. Join us as we celebrate Earth Day by bringing together the South Florida community for a day of family-friendly activities. Heal The Planet Day is a great event with an amazing array of activities for all ages, food vendors, live entertainment, and our amazing 25-foot Globe. I will have a booth there and will be selling raw honey and other bee related items, and more importantly, discussing anything and everything to do with bees, how they desperately need our help, and I will be bringing a couple of Orchid Bee Feeders, hoping to entice some shy, gentle Orchid Bees to visit! I will be giving a short presentation at 3.30 at my booth, so do stop by!

BEES IN OUR BONNET” AT BONNET HOUSE, 20 MAY 2023: 10 am to 12.30 pm https://www.bonnethouse.org/event/bees-in-our-bonnet/ This exciting class will cover topics ranging from little-known but fascinating facts about honey bees, and why they are so important as pollinators, and we will discuss why, instead of us being afraid of bees, they should be afraid of us.  We will dispel myths and misconceptions about bees, talk about why honey bee populations are declining, the facts behind swarms and swarming, and what you can do to help bees. We will go behind the scenes of live bee removals and will discuss what is involved with being a beekeeper; in particular, if you’re afraid of bees, can you still become a beekeeper?  We will have a short overview of Orchid Bees, followed by an introduction to the wonderful world of honey, including how and why bees make honey, why the honey industry is so controversial and filled with fraud, and what honey is best. We will wrap up the event with a honey-tasting session. Raw wildflower honey will be available to buy after class, as well as Orchid Bee Feeders and Honey Bee Revival Kits for those poor, tired bees you see on the ground.

About Instructor Joanna Diamond:
Born and raised in South Africa, Joanna’s goal is to save as many honey bees as she can. Having volunteered for four and a half years for a bee Rescue & Removal charity, she has assisted with countless bee removals, is a registered Beekeeper, and has bee hives in her garden (which is a Certified Wildlife Habitat). She works closely with a South Florida beekeeper and live bee removal specialist whom she highly recommends for live bee removals. Joanna’s message is that honey bees are our best friends and full-time unpaid employees, working tirelessly for our benefit for no reward, they are misunderstood and feared unnecessarily, struggling to survive and we need to do everything we can as a global community to help them.

Saturday, May 20
10:00 am-12:30 pm
Island Theater
$25 members/$35 non members

MOUNTS BOTANICAL GARDEN OF PALM BEACH COUNTY: 17 June 2023, 10 am to noon (more details to follow shortly): Hypnotic honey bees: Enter the enchanting and fascinating world of honey bees, discover little known but intriguing facts about them and learn how you can help our tiny, humble, hardworking friends to help us. Find out what challenges they face, dispel myths, and find out why beekeeping is so mesmerizing.  Delve into the incredible edible world of honey and explore other magical bee products. Meet charming little Orchid Bees, and enjoy an in-depth honey tasting session.  In honor of National Pollinators’ Week.  Includes snacks and beverages.

About Joanna Diamond: Joanna was born and raised in South Africa, but it was only five years ago that she became involved with honey bees, beekeeping and bee rescues/removals. She has four beehives in her own garden, which is a Certified Wildlife Habitat and she is working towards getting her Master Beekeeper certification.  Her message is that honey bees are our best friends, full time unpaid employees, and we need to do everything we can as a global community to help them.

FAMILY DAY AT BONNET HOUSE in Fort Lauderdale – 18 March 2023 – from 10 am to 2 pm – see pics below – was SO much fun! Not only did we get to meet the coolest two of the Mounted Fort Lauderdale Units on horseback (they loved the honey!) and I’m sure the horses were posing for the camera! I did honey tastings for so many people who loved the idea of comparing different honeys side by side. It was also really fun to have a dark honey (harvested last month) compared with a light honey (harvested last year) and the different subtleties between them – some people thought they tasted peaches or mangoes, other thought brazillian peppers or mangroves – some thought orange blossom – it was so much fun and everyone had different ideas! I met lots of really cool kids and their parents, told them (and Bonnet House volunteers) lots of cool facts about bees, and even two orchid bees showed up to demonstrate the wonders of my Orchid Bee Feeders! Thank you to all the Bonnet House volunteers – you are all AWESOME! looking forward to doing my workshop class in May!

The presentation at Mounts Botanical Gardens of Palm Beach County (see below how it was set up, just before everyone arrived) on 4th February 2023 was AWESOME!! Thanks to everyone who showed up, in spite of the torrential rain and storms everywhere – I know it was scheduled to be a two hour presentation, but we were all having so much fun and such great discussions – not to mention the delicious honey tasting session – that it went on for three hours!!! Looking forward to doing the next one!!! This class covered topics ranging from little known but intriguing facts about honey bees, why honey bees in particular are so important as pollinators, do we need to be afraid of bees or should bees be afraid of us, and dispelling myths and misconceptions about bees.  We discussed why honey bee populations are declining, the facts behind swarms and swarming, what you can do when you spot a swarm, what you can do to help bees, and we will go behind the scenes of live bee removals.  We talked about becoming a beekeeper, what it involves, and in particular, can you become a beekeeper if you’re afraid of bees. We had a short overview of Orchid Bees, followed by an introduction to the fascinating world of honey, including how and why bees make honey, and what honey is best. We wrapped up the event with a honey tasting session. Raw wildflower honey was available to buy after class, as well as Orchid Bee feeders and Honey Bee Revival Kits. The class was so much fun and had so many great questions, that when the two-hour time limit was up – they wanted to keep going! So we continued for another 45 minutes, doing honey tastings, answering more questions etc. What an awesome workshop that was! People so enjoyed the honey (especially those with allergies) that I sold out immediately and continued to sell that February honey and even ship it to people who wanted to order more. It REALLY helped their allergies!

HEAL THE PLANET – Garden Pollinator presentation on 29th January 2022 at wonderful Snyder Park: Brrrr that was a cold day! Thank you to those who braved the cold to join me and participate in the shortish presentation about bees and how we all can help them, delivered next to the Butterfly Garden. We all enjoyed walking around the garden afterwards – but yikes, was it chilly! Sorry there are no photos!

Demurs Farmers Market, October 2nd and 9th, 2021: What a great way to spread the word about Urban Bee Keeping, saving the bees and protecting our pollinators! I took an empty bee hive with me that got a lot of “buzz”, and was lucky enough to meet two wonderful people – one who offered us her garden shed to keep our bee equipment (thank you Gail!), and the other who volunteered his amazing garden as a bee sanctuary (Patrick – you’re totally awesome)! So many people were intrigued by what we did (live bee removals), and thank you also to Tam who came to help out on one of these days!

Snyder Park/Heal The Planet workshop 12/18/2021 – WAS EXCELLENT!

Heal The Planet event at Snyder Park: 9th April 2021 – Food Fest Event – SAVE THE FOOD (as part of Food Waste Prevention Week) – There was tremendous interest in saving bees – met some wonderful, environmentally conscious people and had a great time

Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County: Bee Culture: An Amazing Adventure, July 30, 2022 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm: The Amazing Adventure of Bees and Beekeeping: Come see what all the buzz is about! Learn how to become a beekeeper and what to consider before becoming a beekeeper. Discover why honeybees are so important, why they are struggling to survive, and what you can do to help them. Get a behind-the-scenes look at a live bee removal and learn the facts behind swarms and swarming. Find out why and how bees make honey and how they are able to share their bounty with us. Get an introduction to Orchid Bees and other pollinators. Honey will be available for sale and tasting, and refreshments will be provided. I was so excited to be giving a workshop/presentation about our wonderful honey bees. It was all about honey bees, dispelling myths, intriguing facts about them, how we can help bees – should we be afraid of bees or should bees afraid of us – and so many more topics. Please do come and support us – by learning about the bees, we can all help them – and support Mounts Botanical Gardens – they really LOVE bees and it is the most magical place.

SCIENCE NIGHT – Sheridan Hills Elementary School, 25 May 2022: What a great way to educate the students and their families on bees. There were two rotations of 30 minutes each, and I was so impressed at how even the youngest students were so knowledgeable about bees – even more than their parents! It was a great success and I’ve been invited back in 2023 – very excited about that too!