Friday, February 7, 2020

Bees at Redwood SustAg

Hello SustAg community! 
I am Elsa Davis, Redwood's beekeeper! I wanted to inform you all on what has been going on with the hive lately. Sadly, over the summer our bees disappeared. I belive that our bees left due to having too large of a hive to protect or in an attempt to escape a disease. In light of this, I have been working on restoring and renovating the beehive to make it welcoming for our new nuc (nucleus colony) that will be purchased in the Spring from a local beekeeper. With the help from two other SustAg students, invasive species were removed from the marshy clearance where the hive is located near the school. The beehive was then brought to my house where it was sanded and sterilized. A heat gun was used to kill any remaining bacteria that may have caused the disappearance of the old hive. In order to sterilize the used racks, leftover wax was scraped off, then each rack was dipped into a large pot of boiling water. Most recently, Devon Ball, an RHS AP Environmental Science student and artist, worked with me to paint the beehive to help inspire our new bees to create an abundance of sweet, nutritious honey for our community to enjoy. 
 

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