Fall time in the Honey Bee World

I'm not going to lie, GW has some pretty incredible photographers. Lucky for Food Justice, these two wonderful photographers, Jessica and William, LOVE our honey bees and just can't get enough. For the second time, the kiddos came out with their massive cameras to don bee suits and make like a photo shoot. The never neglect to tell me that projects like shooting the bees is what makes their jobs so awesome. Go Food Justice! for providing entertainment for GW's dedicated photographers and Thank You Jessica and William for making us look so legit. Much love, guys.
Anyway...here are the rest of the goods!

Smoker

Yours Truly.

She took a liking to my glove.

All the baby brood has emerged! The hive is full of nurse bees.

Interested in getting involved with GW's honey bees? Join the Colonial Swarm this Winter while we build a bunch more boxes and introduce brand new colonies to the Mount Vernon Campus.

*Photos courtesy of Jessica McConnell (Burt). We <3 you.

Erin comes to see the bees

Actually, Erin did more than just see the bees, she smoked them, inspected frames, and fed them sugar water and Honey Bee Healthy. Sounds like a beekeeper in the making! GW's honey bees are hunkering down for winter, finding the last few bits of nectar around town and the queen is feverishly laying her wintertime brood of babies. These baby bees that will emerge from their cells in a few weeks time will be hearty winter bees prepared for cold nights and windy winter days.

In the photo, Erin is digging the floaters out of the sugar water reservoir that we use to feed the bees with. They get really stuck because when the sugar water runs out, the bees think it's funny to glue the wooden floaters to the reservoir with propolis. Not so funny. Ask Erin, it's tough to get them unstuck.

FJA Leaders Volunteer at Sweet Virginia

Our returning Food Justice Alliance members have been working extra hard to make the beginning of this year big. As a Labor Day excursion we trekked to Gainsville, VA, to spend the day with Beekeeper Dan and the Sweet Virginia Bees.




While on the farm, we built and painted future honey bee homes. It's important that they are assembled tightly and painted meticulously, so that water, intruders, and wind don't get in.

Per Labor Day tradition, we had a FEAST of delicious end-of-summer fare, veggie burgers, sweet corn, snap peas, melon, berries, tomato & mozzarella salad, watermelon, and grilled peaches!! YUM.

Then...we played with bees! This time of year, they need to be fed. Seeing as we have taken their winter store of honey for ourselves, beekeepers feed their bees starting in August, about once a week until mid-November, then every few weeks until February. Feeding keeps the bees strong and healthy through the winter, so they can have a head start early Spring. The syrup that beekeepers feed with is usually just sugar water.

When a beekeeper opens a beehive, she first smokes the bees with a smoker. The smoke, which is just dry leaves, grass, and sometimes twine, calms the bees who's job it is to guard the hive. We don't want them thinking that we are attacking them, just poking around a little, making sure all is well inside the box.

Philanthropist Dan, who donates all honey proceeds to charity, also has a Love Through Zinnias Program. He grows hundreds of Zinnias, arranges them in vases, and gives them to hospital patients. We helped Dan pick Zinnias and he let us arrange them and take some home.

All in all, a wonderful Labor Day, filled with sun, fun, and good company.

Our honey bees are famous!

Thanks to GW's media relations team, especially Courtney Bowe, three tv new stations came to the Vern Campus Tuesday June 20, to film features about our honey bees! We suited up the reporters and camera men so they could get up close and personal with the bees. Here is the link to the Fox News 5 feature! Also, some photos from the media event. Thank you Leanne Blanchette for the photos!

Fast Times at Sweet Virginia

Dan Price, creator of Sweet Virginia, has welcomed me to his farms several times this summer. Every time I go, I learn more about beekeeping, bee maintenance, hard work, bee stings, and honey! As the mentor of GW bee initiative, he is fulfilling his job priming me for any honeybee curve ball that might come my way. These photos are from his farm near Reston, Virginia. I have been building and painting many a bee box as well as doing the rounds checking on the hives.

First Installment of the Bee Blog!

Another one of FJA's projects is Beekeeping. In March 2010, FJA applied to the Public Service Grant for funds to start an apiary at GW. Lo and behold, the grant came through and in June 2010, the GW Mount Vernon Campus welcomed three bee boxes care of Sweet Virginia Foundation. The Sweet Virginia Honeybee Cooperative of Northern Virginia uses honey as an incentive to donate to local charities. Dan Price, the creator of Sweet Virginia, graciously gave three mature bee colonies to FJA to start us on our journey! Dan is FJA's primary bee mentor as beekeeping is a very particular science.
The season for bees is summer, but the beekeepers work starts in late winter. At the start of 2011, FJA will begin from scratch, building and painting boxes, ordering new bees and queens, and learning all there is to know about the mysteries and miracles of these brilliant little workers.
The reason for the coming of the bees is closely tied to FJA's gardens, but these bees will pollinate flowers and vegetables around the community as well. As with the gardens, FJA wants the bee initiative to be an awareness and education tool for DC. We believe this city has the potential to be a leader in urban sustainability, and we look to achieve that by creating opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and community members to learn and volunteer. Education is the key to change!
*Photos care of Jessica McConnell/GWU