Share the Buzz June 28th

 

Join us on Saturday, June 28th from 10 am-3pm at our Charlottesville store for Share the Buzz, a celebration of bees and their incredible importance.

Presented in conjunction with Whole Foods Market, Share the Buzz is a free event that shines the spotlight on the power of bees, their dwindling population and what you can do to help. Get to know bees like never before, attend workshops, taste local treats and meet local non-profits that help protect our environment everyday.

Workshop: Planting a Bee Friendly Garden with Michael Lachance
10:30am

Michael Lachance will present an hour workshop on how we might redesign our home and town landscapes so they are more welcoming to honeybees, native pollinators, and other beneficial insects.  This will be a treat for the whole family and will open the door to various projects that you can do to become more engaged with the many small and beautiful animals that we encounter in our gardens and parks. Michael has a Master’s of Science in entomology from the University of Missouri and has been employed by Virginia Cooperative Extension for 23 years, serves on the state steering committee of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program, is an avid beekeeper, and enjoys collecting insects.

Workshop:  Introduction to Beekeeping with Ken Hall
1:30pm

Introduction to Beekeeping with Ken Hall provides a quick overview of how to get started keeping honey bees. Major topics include Basic Bee Biology, Choosing a Location for Your Hives, Essential Equipment For Your First Year, Obtaining and Installing the bees, Pests and Diseases and Enjoying the Honey Harvest.  Ken has been keeping bees for 17 years and has attained Journeyman status in the Virginia State Beekeepers Association Master Beekeepers certification program.  Along with his wife Karen, Ken currently manages 12-15 hives at two sites in northern Albemarle County plus observation hives at both the Discovery Museum in Charlottesville and the Ivy Creek Natural Area in Albemarle County.   He is the County Fair Coordinator and Webmaster of the Central Virginia Beekeepers Association, and is an instructor for their annual Beginning Beekeeping class, presented in association with the Charlottesville and Albemarle County Parks and Recreation Departments. Ken and his wife Karen frequently provide presentations on honey bees at a variety of venues, including schools, garden clubs, fairs, and numerous special events.

Look out for these local non-profits and vendors at the event:

•        Environmental Studies on the Piedmont
•        Central Virginia Beekeepers Association (CVBA) (Who will be featuring a live hive!)
•        Virginia Cooperative Extension
•        Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
•        Piedmont Environmental Council
•        Whole Foods Market, Charlottesville
•        Barefoot Bucha
•        Farmstead Ferments
•        C’ville Foodscapes
•        Hungry Hill Honey
•        Three Notch’d