Why Join the EDBA?
Joining the Edmonton & District Beekeepers Association (EDBA) is a rewarding way to deepen your beekeeping journey—whether you’re a complete beginner with your first hive or an experienced keeper. As a not-for-profit organization with over 100 members and 50+ years of history, we’re here to support hobbyists and commercial beekeepers across Edmonton and surrounding areas like St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, and beyond.
Membership connects you to a friendly, knowledgeable community that promotes awareness, education, and responsible beekeeping to sustain our local ecosystem.
Membership Benefits
- Educational Meetings & Events — Seasonal guest speakers on topics like spring feeding, bee health, fall wrapping, and the latest advancements in beekeeping.
- Swarm Catchers Service — Join our volunteer network for safe honey bee swarm relocation.
- Optional Liability Insurance — Special low-cost $2 million coverage through The Co-operators.
- Community & Resources — Stay informed on government policies, bee health, good hive management practices, and connect with fellow enthusiasts.
- Support Alberta’s Ecosystem — Contribute to pollination and biodiversity in our region through responsible beekeeping.
Everyone starts with at least one hive — and we’re here to help you succeed every step of the way!
Honey Bees
Fun Facts to Inspire You
By joining, you become part of this fascinating world and help protect these incredible pollinators.
- Honey bees have been producing honey from flowering plants for approximately 30 million years — long before humans existed!
- A honey bee queen mates with up to 17 drones (male bees) during a single 1–2 day mating flight early in her life, storing sperm for her entire lifetime (up to 5 years).
- Worker bees live about 6 weeks during the busy summer months but can live up to 6 months in winter when their biology changes to support the colony through colder temperatures.
- Honey bees perform the famous “waggle dance” — a figure-eight movement that precisely communicates the direction, distance (every 75 milliseconds of waggling ≈ 330 feet), and quality of a food source to their hive mates.
- In Alberta, beekeepers and their bees play a vital role in pollinating canola and other crops, supporting a multi-million-dollar honey industry.
Welcome existing members!
If this is your first visit to our new website, please sign in to your account Here using your email address or by using the Sign In option from the menu, and use the Reset password to setup your password. Members can then manage their personal details, check membership status, and optional insurance purchase. Any auto-renew subscription can be cancelled in the account at any time.
New members will setup their login, password and personal details when joining.
EDBA Membership runs annually from October 1st to September 30th the following year.
Co-operators insurance is issued annually from March 1st to February 28th the following year. Insurance is optional but only valid with a paid up membership.
How to Join or Renew
Option 1: Online
membership ( recommended)
Memberships can be purchased
online either as an auto-renewal subscription option in the months of September
and October, or annually as a single year option at any time.
Secure checkout is processed by Stripe and subscriptions can be cancelled at any time by logging in to your account.
If you are an existing member please login to your account before adding products to your cart.
Option 2: Traditional Payment
- E-transfer to: EDBAtreasurer@gmail.com
- Cheque payable to: Edmonton and District Beekeepers Association
Please include your full name, address, phone number, email, and note “Membership [Current Year]” (and “+ Insurance” if applicable) in the message or email.
For the current mailing address or any questions, contact: EDBAtreasurer@gmail.com
Insurance is offered separately and is optional.
Pollination Power & Ecosystem Impact
- One out of every three bites of food we eat depends on pollinators like honey bees. They pollinate over 150 commercial crops in North America alone.
- Honey bees are the only insect that produces a food consumed by humans — and they’ve been doing it for millions of years.
- A single foraging bee visits 50 to 100 flowers per trip from the hive. Collectively, they make an enormous difference in our gardens, farms, and wild spaces.
Alberta & Global Scale
- Alberta is Canada’s top honey-producing province, managing around 300,000 colonies and contributing about 40% of the country’s total honey production each year.
- Globally, there are approximately 101.7 million managed honey bee colonies — a 47% increase since 1990, showing the resilience and growth of beekeeping worldwide.
- In Alberta’s prairie region, commercial beekeepers often maintain 500 to 13,000 colonies each (average around 2,000), with strong production supported by vast canola and clover
Ready to Start Your Beekeeping Adventure?
Membership is more than just a fee — it’s an invitation to learn, share, and make a positive impact on Alberta’s environment while enjoying the company of like-minded people.