Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association — Des Peres (St. Louis), MO local clubs

Category: Local clubs Also called: EMBA; Eastern Missouri Beekeepers; Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association (St. Louis) Last checked: 2026-10-08

What it is

Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association (EMBA) is a first-party beekeeping club based in St. Louis, Missouri. Its official site says it has been “Educating Beekeepers Since 1939” and describes it as “a volunteer-based, non-profit organization that trains beginning and advanced beekeepers, promotes beekeeping within the region; and provides networking opportunities for beekeepers, old and new.” It holds free monthly meetings in Des Peres (St. Louis County), runs hands-on open-apiary days at a club teaching bee yard at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a mentoring program, cooperative nuc and queen purchasing, a member honey-extraction day, a swarm list, and an annual two-day Beekeeping Workshop & Honey Show. It is not a commercial hive-equipment shop and not a university certificate pathway.

Who it’s for

New and experienced beekeepers in the St. Louis region who want free monthly meetings, hands-on time in a teaching apiary, a first-year mentor, and a member community. The Monthly Meetings page says meetings are open to the public and free. Annual dues are $15 individual or $20 family, and members aged 80 or older can become lifetime members for free. Not a drop-in equipment warehouse and not an online university course.

Why it’s listed

This is a first-party Local club. Its official pages print a fixed monthly meeting day, time and venue, annual dues, a dated 2026 events calendar with speakers and venues, and ticket prices for its February 2027 workshop. It is not a Facebook-only group and not a scraped directory card.

Meetings (Monthly Meetings page + 2026 event pages — checked 2026-10-08): monthly club meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month except December, 6:15–8:30 PM, at the Des Peres Lodge, 1050 Des Peres Road, Des Peres, MO 63131 (the calendar names the venue “The Lodge Des Peres”). Social time and light refreshments start at 6:15 PM, and presentations begin at 6:45 PM. A typical meeting includes “This Month In Beekeeping,” talks by experienced members, and visiting researchers. The next meeting is Tuesday, October 13, 2026, where Valorie Nichols will speak on “Wax in Our Hives — How it Can Help You or Hurt You” (the event page lists 6:15–9:00 PM). The calendar also lists a November 10, 2026 meeting and says there is no December meeting.
Hands-on (Hands on Experience page + Open Apiary event pages — checked 2026-10-08): the club keeps a teaching bee yard at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N Warson Rd. Open apiary days run 11:00 AM–1:00 PM; attendees must bring protective gear and be members of EMBA, the Great Plains Master Beekeeping program or Saint Louis Beekeepers. Upcoming sessions are October 10 and October 17, 2026. The 2026 calendar also lists queen pickup (April 25), nuc pickup (May 2), the member “Extractaganza” honey-extraction day (July 25, $20), and member entries at the Missouri State Fair. The home page says EMBA won the Group Grand Champion ribbon “this Year” and links its 2026 ribbon winners.
Membership (Membership Benefits page — checked 2026-10-08): $15 per year individual, $20 per year family, and free lifetime membership for anyone 80 or older. Listed benefits include a members’ forum, cooperative purchasing of nucs and queens, subsidized programs such as the annual workshop and holiday party, the swarm and cutout lists, apiary work sessions, the extraction event, the mentorship program, and member-only socials. The page says the club is “100% run by volunteers” and that all membership fees go to beekeeping programs in the St. Louis region.
Mentoring (Mentoring Program page — checked 2026-10-08): first-year beekeepers can be matched with an experienced member for free. Mentees must join EMBA and attend a Beginners Beekeeping Workshop, and mentors must register every year.
Annual workshop (2027 Workshop & Honey Show Weekend event page — checked 2026-10-08): February 5–6, 2027, at the Holiday Inn Sunset Hills, 10709 Watson Road, Sunset Hills, MO 63127. Tickets: Beginners course (Saturday February 6, 8:00 AM–6:00 PM) $118; Experienced course (same day) $118; Intermediate course (Friday February 5, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM) $118, or $80 as an add-on to a Beginners or Experienced ticket; Friday banquet (6:00–9:00 PM) $55. Course days include continental breakfast, lunch and refreshments. The Beginners course includes a beginning beekeeper’s book and a follow-up session later in February. The weekend also has a honey show and a vendor show.
Contact (home page + event organizer listing + Contact page — checked 2026-10-08): phone 314-451-2335 (written as “314-451-(BEEK) 2335” on the Hands on Experience page). Event pages list [email protected] as the organizer email. The Contact page uses a web form and asks for 24–48 hours for a volunteer reply. No club mailing address is printed on the pages checked.

Meeting dates, venues, dues and ticket prices above are what the official pages showed on the check date. They can change. Confirm on the live calendar and Membership page before treating any figure or venue as fixed.

Official URL

https://easternmobeekeepers.com/

Monthly Meetings: https://easternmobeekeepers.com/programs/monthly-meetings/

Membership Benefits (dues): https://easternmobeekeepers.com/our-purpose/membership/

Events calendar: https://easternmobeekeepers.com/emba-events/calendar/

October 13, 2026 monthly meeting: https://easternmobeekeepers.com/event/oct-2026-monthly-meeting/

October 10, 2026 open apiary day: https://easternmobeekeepers.com/event/october-10th-emba-open-apiary-day/

2027 Workshop & Honey Show Weekend: https://easternmobeekeepers.com/event/2027-emba-workshop-honey-show-weekend/

Mentoring Program: https://easternmobeekeepers.com/programs/mentoring-program/

Hands on Experience: https://easternmobeekeepers.com/programs/workshops/

Our Purpose: https://easternmobeekeepers.com/our-purpose/

Location

Monthly meetings (Monthly Meetings page, checked 2026-10-08): Des Peres Lodge, 1050 Des Peres Road, Des Peres, MO 63131, second Tuesday of each month except December, 6:15 PM. Open apiary days: the club teaching bee yard at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N Warson Rd (event text says Olivette, MO; the calendar venue record says St. Louis, MO 63132). The February 2027 workshop is at the Holiday Inn Sunset Hills, 10709 Watson Road, Sunset Hills, MO 63127. The official pages print no club mailing address. Verify the live calendar before you go.

This is a Local club meeting identity, not an Equipment retail counter and not a university classroom.

Notes

Category is Local clubs. This is a first-party St. Louis-area beekeeping association with a fixed monthly meeting, a dated 2026 calendar and published annual dues. It is not Equipment and not Learning, even though it runs an annual workshop and a mentoring program: those are club programs, not a certificate pathway. It is the first Missouri listing in the directory.
EMBA’s teaching apiary also hosts Great Plains Master Beekeeping open-apiary days, and its Hands on Experience page links to the GPMB St. Louis open apiary. Great Plains Master Beekeeping is already listed under Learning. EMBA is a separate club.
The 1939 founding, the meeting schedule and venue, the $15 / $20 dues, the 80-and-over free lifetime membership, the 2026 calendar dates, the October 13 speaker, and the 2027 workshop dates and ticket prices are copied from official easternmobeekeepers.com pages checked on 2026-10-08 and may change. Some calendar dates were read from the site’s own events feed (/wp-json/tribe/events/v1/events, HTTP 200).
Small conflicts: the Monthly Meetings page gives 6:15–8:30 PM, but the October 13 event page lists 6:15–9:00 PM. The Monthly Meetings page says “Des Peres Lodge” and the calendar says “The Lodge Des Peres” (same 1050 Des Peres Road address). The home page calls the workshop hotel “Holiday Inn, St. Louis SW,” and the event page calls it “Holiday Inn Sunset Hills” (same 10709 Watson Road address). The December 8, 2026 holiday party ($20) venue is spelled “Llewellyn’s Pub in Webster Groves” in the event text and “Llywelyn’s Pub” in the calendar venue record.
The Our Board page, members-only areas and the members’ forum were not used. Open-apiary host names on event pages are not copied.
First-party image saved beside this listing as eastern-missouri-beekeepers.png (the official full logo EMBA-FULL-LOGO.avif, 300×111 original from the site’s media library, converted from AVIF to PNG without resizing or editing). The site has no og:image.
Not affiliated with Beekeeping Plaza.
No Beekeeping Plaza contact, purchase, booking, or publication action was taken.

FAQ

Q: When and where does EMBA meet?
A: According to the official Monthly Meetings page (checked 2026-10-08), meetings are on the second Tuesday of every month except December, 6:15–8:30 PM, at the Des Peres Lodge, 1050 Des Peres Road, Des Peres, MO 63131. Social time starts at 6:15 PM and presentations at 6:45 PM. The next meeting is Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Confirm on https://easternmobeekeepers.com/emba-events/calendar/.

Q: How much does membership cost?
A: The official Membership Benefits page (checked 2026-10-08) lists $15 a year for an individual and $20 a year for a family. Members aged 80 or older can be made lifetime members for free. Monthly meetings are free and open to the public.

Q: Does EMBA run a beginner class?
A: Yes. The 2027 Workshop & Honey Show Weekend (February 5–6, 2027, Holiday Inn Sunset Hills) includes a Saturday Beginners course for $118, with a beginner book and a follow-up session later in February. There are also Experienced ($118) and Friday Intermediate ($118, or $80 as an add-on) courses. EMBA is still listed here as a Local club, not a Learning certificate program.

Q: Can I get hands-on experience with bees?
A: Members can join open apiary days at the club teaching bee yard at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N Warson Rd, 11:00 AM–1:00 PM (upcoming: October 10 and October 17, 2026). You must bring protective gear and be a member of EMBA, Great Plains Master Beekeeping or Saint Louis Beekeepers. First-year members can also sign up for the free mentoring program.

Q: Is EMBA a shop or a course?
A: No. It is listed here as a Local club. For hive gear, see the Equipment listings (e.g. Vermont Beekeeping Supply). For a structured course, see Learning (e.g. the University of Arkansas Complete Beekeeping Short Course).