Meeting held in Kinsmen Pavilion at Richmond Nature Park, 7:30 pm

There were 64 people in attendance.

Meeting called to order at 7:36 pm.

1. Welcome : Opening Remarks and Introduction by Shaidah Karim

1. 1. There were 6 “New bees” attending.
2. Approval of February minutes
   1. Motion to approve February 2017 minutes by Blair Trenholme. Seconded by Steve Bailey.
   2. Carried.
3. Raffle
   1. Steve Bailey and Mike Munroe from Delta Honey Farms generously donated a two box full langstroth hive setup. There will be a separate draw for this prize at the end.
4. Newsletter
   1. Shaidah checked to confirm that everyone is receiving the newsletter, and that people are reading and finding it useful.
5. Financials
   1. The RBA currently has $8518.92 in the account.
   2. $140 was collected in the raffle at last months meeting. One of our best months to date.

6. Executive

   1. Winston talked a bit about being on the executive, and what we do. He encouraged the membership to reach out to the executive with any feedback or suggestions. He also encouraged anyone interested to join in future.

7. Website/Microscope update

   1. Anyone interested in having someone look at their bees, please bring in a 50 bee sample, and someone will have the microscope set up before the meeting, and at the break to have a look.

8. Speakers

   1. If any members have suggestions for speakers or topics for our monthly meetings, or weekend workshop ideas, please reach out to anyone on the executive.

9. David Suzuki foundation

   1. Jean Stewart discussed an initiative taken by the Suzuki foundation to convince the government to ban neonics in Canada. Jean will also put this information out in the email forum for anyone interested in signing the petition.

10. Seed bank

    1. Winston brought in all the seeds that were donated by members last year, and encouraged the membership to donate and take what they like from the collection.
11. Bees & Beers
    1. The next Bees & Beers will be held on March 27/18, 6:30pm at O’Hares pub in Richmond. Come out to socialize with your fellow beekeepers.
12. BCHPA Semi-annual meeting in Kamloops
    1. Julia Common relayed some of the topics covered at the semi-annual meeting in Kamloops this past weekend.

13. Coffee & Raffle

14. Presenters: Julia Common presented swarms, and how to prevent them, and Eric Crosby presented collecting swarms, setting up bait hives, and a bit about the swarm list.

15. Motion to Adjourn: 9:22pm… Carried
16. Next Meeting: April 10th, 2018