The UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP) is being recognized by the UC Davis Staff Assembly as a Citation of Excellence winner in the Faculty-Staff Partnership Award category for its "outstanding achievements and notable contributions" in disseminating science-based beekeeping information through a network of organizations and trained volunteers since 2016.

Honored are the duo of CAMBP director Elina Lastro Niño, associate professor of Cooperative Extension and a member of the faculty of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and co-program manager Wendy Mather, staff. Niño founded CAMBP in 2016.

They will receive the award from Chancellor Gary May at a fall reception. 

"The award seeks to highlight teams who actively develop and encourage faculty/staff partnerships and as a result are able to make notable contributions to UC Davis that contribute to the University's Mission of Teaching, Research, and Service; and who exemplify outstanding achievement and/or service," according to Staff Assembly officials.

Since 2016, CAMBP has:

• Given 32,000 hours of volunteer time (Beneficial Educational Experiences) and served 186,630 individuals in education, outreach and beekeeping mentorship. If a volunteer hour is worth  $26.87, the program has given $859,840 back to the state of California in service of science-based beekeeping and honey bee health. 
• Enrolled 185 Honey Bee Ambassadors (a level established in 2021), 494 Apprentice, 93 Journey level candidates and certified 20 Master level beekeepers. There are 12 members in 2023 participating in their Master Capstone projects. 
• Since the team began tracking Continuing Education Experiences in 2020, they're recorded 3752 hours
• They're also working on updating a safety manual. 

Thanks to generous support from the Office of the Chancellor, Staff Assembly will award the staff winners with a total of some $17,000. Niño is one of three faculty recognized. (See list)

Niño and Mather are being honored as "The Bee Team." 

Elina Niño
Elina Niño, in addition to being the Extension apiculturist for the state of California, a member of the entomology-nematology faculty,  director of CAMBP, and a honey bee researcher, serves as the faculty director of the UC Davis Bee Haven, a half-acre bee garden on Bee Biology Road.

"My primary responsibilities are in providing professional support and education to California's beekeepers, growers, pesticide applicators, and other stakeholder groups," she writes on the CAMBP website. "I teach numerous beginner, intermediate and advanced beekeeping workshops, the culmination of which has resulted in the establishment of the first ever California Master Beekeeper Program serving beekeepers of California and neighboring states. I am also currently working on the development of apiculture education for veterinarians in collaboration with the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security (WIFFS). In addition to teaching formal workshops I serve on various commodity boards as a research liaison and adviser allowing me to directly impact California Agriculture.  (See more)

Wendy Mather
Wendy Mather, a beekeeper since 2007, says she enjoys sharing her passion for bees, education, environmental stewardship and program design with the CAMBP.  She achieved her Journey Level Beekeeper certification from the University of Montana in 2015. She owned and operated Hardscrabble Honey, self-described as "a modest sideline operation in central Ontario which averaged 1000 kgs of clean wildflower honey each year." She also worked as the Honey Bee Health tech representative for NOD Apiary Products in Canada and the United States. 

As a social service worker and adult educator, Mather taught community development, program design and portfolio development at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario. (Kian Nikzad serves as the co-program manager of CAMBP but as a new employee, was ineligible to be nominated.)

Citations of Excellence
UC Davis Staff Assembly's annual Citations of Excellence awards program provides recognition for UC Davis and UC Davis Health individual staff and staff teams, who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in one of the following areas: teaching, research, service, innovation, supervision, mentorship, team awards and faculty/staff partnership award. 

The Faculty/Staff Partnership Award is meant for those who "go above and beyond the minimum requirements of their positions," according to Staff Assembly officials. "This award is intended for small teams of 2-4 individuals consisting of at least one career staff and one faculty member. Faculty are eligible to be nominated and to win this award, but are not eligible for the monetary prize." The narrative for the Faculty/Staff Partnership Award is limited to 4000 characters (approximately 750 words).  Under the rules, nominations are confidential, and names and gender of the nominees and their departments are withheld.

Nominating the Bee Team were Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist and a CAMBP Bee Ambassador; Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology; and Nora Orozco, chief administrative officer for the Phoenix Cluster, Department of Entomology and Nematology and the Department of Plant Pathology.

The nominators wrote that the bee team "provides a program of learning, teaching, research, and public service, goes above and beyond in delivering comprehensive, science-based information about honey bees and honey bee health. They continually and consistently develop, improve, and refine their statewide curriculum that educates stewards in a train-the-trainer program to disseminate accurate, timely, and crucial information. Honey bees pollinate more than 30 California crops, including almonds, a $5 billion industry (no bees, no pollination, no almonds).  Indeed, California produces more than a third of our country's vegetables and three-quarters of our fruits and nuts. However, colony losses are alarming due to pesticides, pests, predators and pathogens.   Since 2016 our team has (1) donated 32,000 hours of volunteer time and served 186,630 individuals in education, outreach and beekeeping mentorship (note that if you calculate a volunteer hour at $26.87, our team has given $859,840 back to California in service of science-based beekeeping and honey bee health and (2) enrolled 185 Bee Ambassadors (a level established in 2021), 494 Apprentice, 93 Journey level candidates and certified 20 Master level beekeepers. Note that of the participants, 75 are current or former UC Davis employees or alumni. Since 2020, our team has recorded 3752 hours in Continuing Education Experiences."

"No money? No problem. Our team has donated 12 scholarships, worth $250 each; helped novices who can't afford mentoring or equipment by linking them with veteran beekeepers; and is engaging in free bee removals --rescuing and relocating bees. Our team also is updating a safety manual and developing a EpiPen/CPR course, geared toward everyone from 4-H beekeepers to novice beekeepers to the general public. As you know, anaphylactic reactions can unexpected and deadly. Our team also goes above and beyond by teaching schoolchildren about bees at specially guided garden tours at UC Davis. Our team inspires youngsters to care for the bees and plant nectar and pollen resources. The kids are encouraged to ask questions, try on beekeeping suits and taste honey!" 

"Our team lengthens their office hours, going above and beyond in helping others (such as “My colony is overwhelmed with varroa mites—what can I do?”) listening to them and resolving issues. At Zoom meetings, phone calls, and office meetings, they praise participants for their questions before responding! “Good question, so glad you asked that!” is commonplace and helps build and maintain high morale. It also exemplifies the values of collaboration and collegiality."

"Their website is a wealth of information, including course offerings and knowledge-based information, including backyard beekeeping, bees in the neighborhood, bees and beekeeping regulations, defensive bees, live honey bee removals, and protecting pollinators. This information is available to the public, not limited to program participants."

"Our team builds relationships through high morale, diversity and inclusion. They are committed to advancing inclusion at all levels, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, economic status and other diverse backgrounds..."

"Our team has posted the UC Davis Principles of Community on its website and has added to it. 'We affirm the dignity inherent in all of us, and we strive to maintain a climate of equity and justice demonstrated by respect for one another…We acknowledge that our society carries within it historical and deep-rooted injustices and biases. Therefore, we endeavor to foster mutual understanding and respect among the many parts of our whole.' "

 "Bottom line, our 'B' Team is really an 'A' Team, an outstanding example of UC Davis teaching, research and service; a team providing exemplary service and contributions; and a team that creates and maintains high morale and embodies the Principles of Community."

Also recognized for a Faculty-Staff Partnership Award:

Graduate Mentoring Initiative

• Elizabeth Sturdy, director of Mentoring and Academic Success Initiatives, Graduate Studies
• Pamela Lein, professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Ambar Kulkarni, associate professor, Chemical Engineering

Other recipients of Citations of Excellence awards include:

Innovation Award: Faye Perata, director, Residential Operations, Student Housing and Dining Services

Mentorship Award: Mike Waid, technical lead, Information and Educational Technology (IET)

Service Award: Grace Dell'Olio, administrative assistant, Animal Sciences

Supervision Award:  Meshell Louderman, chief administration officer, Engineering Computer Science

Teaching Award: Joseph Pacini, curriculum coordinator, Veterinary Medicine: Dean's Office 

Team Award:  Orientation Team, New Student Academic Services, comprised of:

• Catrina Wagner, director, New Student Academic Services
• Amy Oleynik, Lead Orientation Program coordinator, New Student Academic Services
• Joseph Villegas, Orientation Program coordinator, New Student Academic Services
• Jessica Acuña, Orientation Program coordinator, New Student Academic Services
• Gabe Bellue, Orientation Administrative Assistant, New Student Academic Services
• Lian Boos, director, Center for Student Involvement

Co-chairs of the 2023 Citations of Excellence program are Darolyn Striley, manager, UC Davis School of Medicine Office of Student Development, and Mary Carrillo, business office manager, UC Davis Languages and Literatures. Lauren McDiarmid, chair of Graduate Studies, serves as the 2022-23 chair of Staff Assembly.

UC Davis faculty are among those scheduled to speak when the annual California Honey Festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 6 in downtown Woodland.

The event, launched in 2017 to celebrate the importance of bees and to promote honey and honey bees and their products, last year drew a crowd of 40,000. It's free and family friendly.

Amina Harris, director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, Robert Mondavi Institute, and a co-founder of the festival, announced the list of speakers who will deliver 20-minute talks on the Speakers' Stage, located just west of First Street.

10:30 a.m.: Pollination ecologist and professor Neal Williams, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, who will discuss "Pollination, the Importance of Native Bees and How to Promote Them"

11 a.m.: Kitty Bolte, GATEways horticulturist, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, "Planting Your Garden to be a Welcoming Space for Pollinators"  

12 noon: Amina Harris,  director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, and co-owner of Z Food Specialty and The HIVE, Woodland, "Let's Learn to Taste Honey."

1 p.m.: Wendy Mather, co-program manager of the California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMPB), "So, You Want to Be a Beekeeper?" 

1:30 p.m.: Jean-Philippe Marelli, senior director of Integrated Pest Management for Mars Wrigley Confectionery (also a journey level master beekeeper and Melipona beekeeper in Brazil), "Stingless Bees: The Amazing World of Melipona Bees"

2 p.m.: Cooperative Extension apiculturist/associate professor Elina Lastro Niño of Entomology and Nematology, and director of the California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMPB), "What Our Bee Research Is Teaching Us."

2:30 p.m.: Sanmu "Samtso" Caoji, a 2022-23 Hubert Humphrey fellow, and founder of the Shangri-la Gyalthang Academy, and CEO of the Cultural Information Consulting Company, "Empowering Women to Become Beekeepers and Bread Winners for Their Families While Keeping Bees in the Wild"

3 p.m.: Rachel Davis, coordinator of Bee City USA Woodland and chair of Bee Campus USA UC Davis (GATEways Horticulturist for the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden), "Woodland Is a Bee City; UC Davis Is a Bee City--What This Means to Our Communities"

UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology communications specialist Kathy Keatley Garvey will provide a background slide show of honey bees and native bees.

The event is both educational and entertaining. Attendees can taste honey, check out the  bee observation hives, watch cooking demonstrations and kids' shows, taste mead and other alcoholic drinks (if of age) and learn about bees from beekeepers and bee scientists. Vendors, offering various products and food, will line the streets.

The UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program,  founded in 2016 by Niño,  provides a program of learning, teaching, research, and public service. They offer comprehensive, science-based information about honey bees and honey bee health.  Since 2016, the organization has donated 32,000 hours of volunteer time and served 186,630 individuals in education, outreach and beekeeping mentorship. Read more about their classes and their work on their website.

An after-party will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. at The HIVE Tasting Room and Kitchen, 1221 Harter Ave., Woodland.  It will feature pollinator-inspired food, drinks, and dancing to the music of Joy and Madness, an 8-piece soul and funk group.  Tickets are $20 and will benefit the California Master Beekeeper Program. "Each ticket includes entry to win a bountiful Yolo County food and drink basket (value $500)," Harris said.  More information is on this website.

So you're interested in honey bees and think you might want to become a beekeeper? Or, on the other hand, you've decided to keep bees but you're not quite ready for a colony? Or do you just want to learn about bees?

The UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMPB) offers training for an "apprentice assistant," described as “the perfect science-based introduction to everything you need to keep safe, healthy bees.” 

Apprentice assistant is the first level of the trainer programs offered by CAMPB, launched and directed by Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. Other levels are apprentice, journey and master. 

“We had 68 applicants in 2021 for the apprentice assistant class,” said Wendy Mather, program director of CAMPB. “Applications for 2022 will open Nov. 30, 2021.” 

The general goals are to learn the basic skills, using science-based research, to care for bees; to learn  (and then teach) about the importance of honey bees and bees in general; and to learn how to keep a healthy bee colony. Apprentice assistants,  for example, will learn how to recognize potential problems (hive assessment); how to anticipate and prevent negative events (such as robbing and mite loads); and how to start and keep a healthy colony, CAMPB officials said.

Applicants will fill out a form, review the Apprentice Assistant Study Guide and take an online written test, scoring at least 80 percent; complete an online beekeeping course (30 minutes); and learn about bee health at https://bee-health.extension.org/biology-of-individual-honey-bees/. They also must pass a practical test (20 minutes) at one of the CAMPB locations--Davis, San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles--and score at least 80 percent on the safety class.

The written test involves identifying beekeeping tools and equipment, such as the smoker and hive tool. The practical test involves:

• Describing the parts of the hive
• Lighting and using a smoker
• Recognizing the stages of brood (workers, drone and queen cells)
• Recognizing the different castes of bees
• Finding or describing the queen
• Differentiating between brood, pollen, nectar, and honey
• Recognizing propolis and describing its function
• Describing the layout of a brood nest (“the perfect frame”, placement of honey, pollen and brood)

The cost to enroll in the class is $50. At the onset, students will receive links to three live, online study halls, facilitated by CAMBP staff, to meet other new beekeepers and ask questions in preparation for the tests, which will be administered in person or virtually via Zoom (depending on COVID-19 restrictions.)

The class officially starts in March, Mather said, with final exams scheduled for September. Students must score at least 80 percent to become an official apprentice assistant. They then will have access to the CAMBP member network; webinars and CAMPB member news. And if they wish, they can apply for the next level, apprentice.

"One cool factor about apprentice assistant is if you decide that beekeeping isn't for you, you still get a certificate stating you've passed the 'theory' portion of the course if you choose only to write the online exam and satisfy your curiosity about humanity's only sweet treat purveying insect," Mather said. "It's not mandatory to get into a hive." 

CAMBP requires 10 hours of volunteer service and 12 hours of continuing education each year so members can maintain and expand their beekeeping knowledge and skills. Some apprentice assistants, for example, may decide to hold an office in a beekeeping club; teach 4-H'ers how to keep bees; or assist commercial beekeepers in their operations.

More information is available on the apprentice assistant website or contact camasterbee@gmail.com.

She “bee” the first. 

Despite COVID-19 pandemic precautions and constraints, the California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP), headquartered at the University of California, Davis, has certified its first-ever Master Beekeeper:  Amy Hustead of Grass Valley, a veteran beekeeper who also happens to be the first and only beekeeper in her family.  

Hustead, president of the Nevada County Beekeepers Association and a veterinary technician, recently passed the Master-level beekeeper certification process.

CAMBP, founded and co-directed by Extension apiculturist  Elina Lastro Niño of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, uses science-based information to educate stewards and ambassadors for honey bees and beekeeping. It offers three levels of certification (Apprentice, Journey and Master). Niño launched the first Apprentice class in 2016.

Hustead's passion is education and outreach, said Niño and CAMBP manager Wendy Mather.

Hustead's Master Capstone project involved teaching two, three-hour online CAMBP classes (“Planning Ahead for Your First Hives,” and “Working Your Colonies.”)  She designed, developed and successfully delivered "Intermediate Backyard Beekeeping," an in-depth, online, four-hour course on science-based beekeeping for the hobbyist and sideliner.  Topics included winter and spring preparation, swarm prevention, active swarming, splits and nucs (nucs, or nucleus colonies, are small colonies created from larger colonies), diseases, nutrition, maximizing honey production, and harvesting honey, wax, propolis and pollen. 

Amy Hustead, a wife,  mother of 9-year-old twin boys, and a seven-year beekeeper, said she really enjoys CAMBP. “It has allowed me to meet some really excellent beekeepers. I plan to continue to teach classes and help educate people on the biology of bees.”

Highly praised for her work, she has drawn such comments as "the class exceeded my expectations”; her “lecture style is professional, yet warm, which is needed in the context of Zoom classes”; and she “keeps an open mind about other beekeepers' goals.” Wrote another: “Amy is very informed and easy to follow, and shares her information with the right amount of applicable detail for the intermediate.” 

What fascinates Hustead about bees? “When I was in college I studied sociobiology, which is a field of biology that explains social behavior in terms of evolution,” she said. “I have always been fascinated by the cross section of evolution and behavior. Bees are the epitome of social insects. Everything they do is for the good of the whole.” 

“I dabbled in homesteading when I first moved to the foothills, and like a lot of people, started out keeping chickens. I think I wanted to get goats but my husband was not on board, so I decided to get bees instead.” 

As a veterinary technician, she works in low-cost spay and neuter programs. "I also volunteer with an organization that provides veterinary care to pets of homeless and low-income people in the Sacramento area." 

Bees keep her occupied at several locations. “I have between 15-20 personal colonies at three different locations,” Hustead related. ”I also manage a few colonies for other people.” 

As it turns out, this year is not a good year for bees. “Mostly my bees aren't doing well this year,” she said. “The nectar flow was non-existent, and the recent fires haven't helped. For the first year ever I am harvesting no honey from my yard at home.”

Hustead home-schools her twins. “I am very serious about home-schooling my kids, and part of our curriculum is extensive travel.” The Hustead family has visited a number of states in the nation, and has already been to Mexico, Ireland, Costa Rica. “We are planning a Europe trip as soon as possible.“ 

The California Master Beekeeper Program logo.

Since late 2016, CAMBP has certified 206 Apprentices and 22 Journey-level beekeepers, who have volunteered more than 24,510 service hours in science-based education and outreach in beekeeping and environmental stewardship. Total value of the service hours: $623,289. Total number of individuals served:  98,618. 

“This year, despite COVID-19 constraints, the California Master Beekeeper Program continues its mission of using science-based information to educate stewards and ambassadors for honey bees and beekeeping, by moving its courses and exams online,” Mather said. 

Online Exams
CAMBP's current 53 Apprentice candidates will take their online exam Sept. 12. To pass, they must score at least 75 percent. “Candidates will upload videos or partake in 'live from their apiary' Zoom sessions to satisfy the requirements of the practical rubric,” Mather said. 

The Journey-level candidates have completed the online written portion of their certification and their videos and Zoom practicals are in progress. “So far, we're proud to announce that all 15 Journey level candidates scored above 80 percent on their written exams, and their videos and Zoom practicals are looking great!” Mather commented.

The Master level usually takes an average of five years to achieve. Some candidates choose to remain as Apprentice or Journey-level beekeepers. CAMBP offers pre-approved Master Capstone Tracks, but also encourages candidates to follow their passion if their favorites are not on the list, which includes: 

• Native Bees and Pollinator Gardens
• Commercial Beekeeping
• Scientific Research
• Education and Outreach
• Policy for Honey Bees and Native Pollinators 

Seven Master-Level Candidates
The seven Master-level candidates for the 2020-21 season are pursuing a variety of projects, including mapping drone congregation areas, authoring a book on the history of honey in ancient Greece, establishing a pollen library for the state of California, starting a commercial beekeeping business, and training a “detector dog” in the apiary.

To maintain active status as a Master Beekeeper with CAMBP, members are required to perform and log 25 hours of BEEs (Beneficial Education Experiences).  Hustead will perform a minimum of 25 volunteer hours annually. Her volunteer service, at the minimum, is valued at $25.43 per hour or about $600 per year. 

“Amy will have no problem doing that as she's active as the president of her local beekeeping club,” Mather said, “and she mentors many new beekeepers to help them become science-based stewards and ambassadors of honey bees and beekeeping.” 

For more information about CAMBP, see its website and also background information on its founding and subsequent funding from the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR).