Beekeepers in the Portland area?

Hi all,

I'm currently enrolled in a beekeeping course and must "shadow a beekeeper" for a few hours to get some first-hand experience and then write a report about it all. If you are within reasonable driving distance of Portland (I actually live in Saint Helens) and wouldn't mind helping a student out, I would be immensely grateful. I am also interested in starting a hive of my own this spring, so if you sell hives too, you are on your way to getting a new customer!

Any leads to connections you might have would also be much appreciated. Thanks!

P.S. - willing to offer some volunteer labor or permaculture planning guidance in exchange

BeeThinking is in Portland. I bet they would let you shadow them for a few hours. They are really nice folks and into alternative beekeeping.

Have you checked out Jaqueline Freeman over in Battle Ground? It's a little ways from Portland, but there are folks from Portland at some of the classes. I'm driving to them from the gorge and loving it. The next class is How to catch a swarm and then they are having a top bar hive class in March that looks awesome. One of the guys I met is going to be building and selling top bar hives. Here is the meet up page: http://www.meetup.com/Natural-Beekeeping/