beekeeping and campus sustainability
TRANSCRIPT
Beekeeping and Campus Sustainability
Presented by: Lauren Neville and Samantha Kenny of theAU Beekeeping Society
Honeybees: An Overview
● Very social● Live in hives of up to 100,000 individuals
○ 95% worker○ 5% drone○ one queen
● High numbers and active in the summer, numbers fall and inactive in the winter
● Collect pollen, nectar and sap from plants and trees
Honeybees: An Overview
● Worker bees○ responsible for everything but mating and laying eggs○ all female○ fertilized eggs○ 95% of population of hive
● Drones○ only responsible for mating○ males○ unfertilized eggs○ no stinger ○ 5% of hive
Honeybees: An Overview
● Queens○ One at a time○ 150% larger than other bees○ lays several thousand eggs a day
■ fertilized become workers■ unfertilized become drones
○ Mates once with several drones and
uses the sperm gathered to fertilize all of her eggs for about 5 years. ○ Worker bees are responsible for choosing a new queen from larvae
when the current queen is getting old■ they create a queen by feeding the larva a diet of royal jelly
○ If more than one queen are present at one time, there will be a swarm.
Honeybees: Fun Facts
● Communicate through pheromones and dancing
● The personality of the hive can change with the queen
● A successful hive can produce over 100 pounds of honey in a season but they only need about 20 to survive the winter
Beekeeping: An Overview
Feed BoxSupers
Queen ExcluderBase BoxEntrance
Beekeeping: An Overview● Beekeeping Safety
○ jackets or suits○ veils○ gloves○ long pants
● Beekeeping Tools○ hive tool○ smoker○ honey extractor○ wax knife○ bee brush
Beekeeping: An Overview
● Standard responsibilities○ hive checks○ feeding○ winterization○ honey harvesting
The AU Beekeeping Society○ April, 2011 - Q: If not a full green roof, then what
small steps can we take? A: Beeyonce ! ○ July 2011 - Honey co-op: seed money for 2 hives○ July - October ‘11: Proposals make it official. ○ Spring ‘12 Apiary on roof of MGC (student union
building)○ Spring ‘12 and ‘13 : Grant funding from Office of
sustainability. Vetting: Office of Sustainability, Buildings & Grounds, Risk Management, Public Safety, Building managers.
The AU Beekeeping Society● Today:
○ Serves as a peer learning experience that is unique to our community. Students taught by students.
○ 84 facebook members○ 15-20 worker bees per meeting○ hive checks, products and bonding○ 6 Planning members: Bee-Board○ Puns!○ Four hives
■ Washington, BEE. C. ■ MisBEEhavin’■ Lord of the Stings■ Morgan BEEman
What We Gain: Products
● Honey● Lip Balm● Lotion● Soap
What We Gain: Sustainability
● Mutually beneficial for○ campus gardening○ local trees○ green spaces○ flowers○ landscaping
What We Gain: Community● New “Worker Bees”● Partnerships on campus
○ Eco-Sense○ Davenport Coffee Lounge○ Community Garden
■ Lip Balm○ Green Eagles
● Events with Community members○ honey harvest○ DC Beekeeping Meetup
● Partnerships off campus○ Whole Foods○ Heavy Seas Brewery
■ Honey Badger IPA○ 3 Stars Berwery
■ White House Honey Blonde ALe
○ Honeydrop○ local schools
Off to the Apiary!