DIY Carpentry: Build A Bee Hotel

Build a wooden bee hotel while learning foundational woodworking skills and creating something that’s practical, fun, and genuinely beneficial to the environment. Along the way, you’ll explore how simple, well-designed structures can support wild and native bees while gaining confidence in the woodshop.

Learn. Students will be introduced to common woodworking machines and hand tools while practicing essential skills such as measuring, cutting, drilling, and assembly. You’ll learn how to work with untreated, rot-resistant woods, safely use saws and drills, create angled cuts for weather protection, and assemble a durable outdoor structure using screws and basic joinery techniques.

Make. By the end of the class, you’ll complete a sturdy, open-front wooden bee hotel with a slanted, overhanging roof designed to shed rain and protect nesting materials.

Optional Foraging Session on Sunday: Students are invited to join an optional outdoor foraging session at the Brattleboro Retreat Farm. During this guided walk, the instructor will demonstrate how to responsibly gather fallen natural materials and select certain invasive plant species for use as nesting material. This optional portion of the class offers insight into insect habitats, plant-bee relationships, and the types of materials that best support wild and native bees.

Saturday, May 2  |  10am – 5pm  |  Class will break for a 1/2 hour lunch.
Sunday, May 3  |  10am – 12pm  |  Optional Foraging Session at Brattleboro Retreat Farm 

Cost: $195 non-members: $165.75 members (plus an additional $20 materials fee).