In 2010, Master Gardener Leslye Buol joined The Western Arkansas Eastern Oklahoma Beekeepers Association (WAEOBA) on the recommendation of her friend, Master Gardener Ann Sayers, whose husband was past president of WAEOBA.
It was a very good match!
Submitted by:
Leslye Buol, Master Gardener and Board Member of The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing.
Making Me BEE Happy
Through the WAEOBA I was able to assist in the management of the first beehive that was placed at The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing. On September 6 & 13, 2014 the first pollinator festival was held and the beehive at LFCC was proclaimed the official honey bees of Fort Smith, AR.
The LFCC has progressively and continually added pollinator support and habitats. Butterflies, bees, bats and various bird pollinators are all given sanctuary.
The purpose of LFCC’s Pollinator Project is to increase awareness of the effect of pollinator demise. And encourage community involvement and support in providing sanctuary and habitats for pollinators through education and information. LFCC pollinator project will assist and aid in eco-system, restoration, and sustainability.
The 2 new beehives are Italian hybrid bees. Each colony consists of 4 established frames of bees. 2 frames of honey for feeding and 2 frames of brood and a laying queen.
The picture that makes me BEE happy!
We have our new hives. The hive was placed on May 10, 2021. After four weeks they are established, healthy, and thriving. They are filling out the frames with pollinator and nectar. The queen is laying, so the colonies will continue to increase. Because our hives are newly established there are no pests or pathogens, detected. A medium box with frames has been placed on both hives to offer more room for the bees to expand their colonies.
What next?
Summer is officially here. At this point, given the hot weather, we will step up our inspection schedule and monitor the hives weekly. Freshwater availability is critical during extensive high temperatures.
This will be a great time and opportunity to open a contest for the best design bee-watering station for an open wildflower field placement.
Thank you for spending your valuable time with us!
We hope you enjoyed and learned more about the things we do at The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing. Our Demonstration Gardens are beautiful in any season, so if you haven't visited us lately, come on out.
Everything we do in our Demonstration Gardens is done with an eye toward protecting and providing a safe haven and habitat for our native pollinators, many of which are in danger of becoming extinct.
You will want to check out The Butterfly Effect to Calm the Chaos