Teaching apiary

[The Drone Ranger]

Hi grizzly
I would consider having a good supply of the thin latex gloves -- they ward off stings keep propolis off hands and encourage good hygiene between hives
I would hope to have veils or jackets to stop people bringing their own contaminated stuff to the apiary
A proper Ashford feeder for each hive to stop all the topping up if feeding is needed -- you can store a hive tool etc and a record book in them on top of hives during the summer

When it comes to new beekeepers rather than have them hanging on endlessly for a nucleus I would start them off with a keiler mating nuc
That will let them get some experience of queen introduction identifying eggs larva perhaps drones etc also fitting wax seeing how it is drawn etc
If their name is written on the top of the keiler and only they can open it for feeding and checking etc they will get some experience with little risk of stings or doing harm to colonies (no big gloves etc)
At some point in the season a nuc hive with a frame of brood can be put in place of the keiler and they can merge the colonies (tie wrap the keiler frames into standard ones )
I think keilers are more suitable than apideas for the purpose as they are bigger and the frame is really just a thin wooden bar
Hopefully they will finish the season with a strong nuc to overwinter ready for the first real year as beekeepers the next season
That should fit in with your breeding plan I think fairly well
You only need three or four full size colonies in the apiary and they should have a good chance of a big honey crop
You only need one rule keep out of all the hives except your own

[Easy beesy]

Grizzly - president of BIBBA has a place down your way - he wants to encourage A. mm. Do you know him? Maybe you could work together with him and Roger on your breeding plans?

[Mellifera Crofter]

...Which brings us to the tricky item of toilets ... the one we've not solved yet. ...

The solution, I recommend, is a nice eco-friendly double thunderbox ...

I'm quoting you again, Fatshark. The reason is that I've found the website (Elemental Solutions) of the best people that I know of for advice on dry composting toilets (the proper name for a double thunderbox) in case either you or Grizzly might need their help.
Kitta

[Adam]

For disease reasons, our association apiary does not allow gloves to be brought in - it's either the second-hand marigolds from a box or one's own disposable ones. it seems that beekeepers quickly get used to thin gloves.

A good set of rules are required would be my guess - good ones will mean that there's no need to use them as everyone knows what's what before anything happens.

Our association has a mixture of hives in addition to the common National - a Smith, WBC, Langstroth, Dartington (often used as a table rather than a beehive), which might be good if the apiary expands.

[Adam]

[QUOTE=fatshark;21609]

Which brings us to the tricky item of toilets ... the one we've not solved yet. Unless you have water and power on site you're restricted here. If you're thinking of running events that take several hours you're going to need access to one. We run half day grafting/queen rearing courses followed by a BBQ, but only at sites where we have toilet facilities. I think they're also essential for public events.
Have fun.

All you need is a shovel.

[Adam]

PS Just reread your OP. Buy a bigger shed. It's too small. Inevitably, it's too small, however big it is. You used the word 'small' so imagine trying to extract the brush cutter early next year when it contains a dozen brood boxes and 30 empty supers. And a table for assembling frames, a dustbin, a grafting table and light, a couple of collapsible chairs, a pile of wood that will be useful sometime, a couple of tragically decrepit bait hives and a wobbly pile of queen excluders, division boards and nuc boxes. Make sure it's rodent proof.

Trying to get a dozen people around an uncapping tray and extractor in a warm room is not fun in a tight space.