W
hat are the bees doing?
The honey bees are clustered tightly together in the hives waiting for a warm day to do some housekeeping. They remove any dead bees, take cleansing flights, and remove any other debris that has accumulated inside. They're staying really close together trying to maintain the warmest possible temperature, which is critical for their survival. The colony will continue eating the honey they've stored all summer long, which is why we are always careful not to take too much!
On the recent warm days, we've seen them out and about taking care of business; however, these extreme temperature fluctuations can be fatal to honey bee colonies.
While we humans with cabin fever appreciate spring-like conditions in January, the bees have a very difficult time adapting. These unusual weather patterns are a perfect example of the fact that our climate is changing and one more reason we must all do our part to protect our environment.
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Last fall, we made some improvements to our apiary. We poured a concrete pad that is large enough to hold up to 20 hives, and added a fence. The talented Costello brothers at
Friendship Farms
built the fence to keep visitors a safe distance from the hives and to create a visual barrier in the landscape for the bees.
We plan to expand the apiary in the spring with several new types of hives that will be home to some of the many wild swarms we capture throughout the spring and summer.
If you're interested in learning more about beekeeping with the treatment-free method, please call or stop by the barn. We'd love to help you get started, and can show you anything you need to know about beekeeping. We're passionate about teaching everyone in our community about how to help all kinds of pollinators thrive!
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Stop by the Barn
If you've had enough indoor time and are starting to feel cabin fever setting in, come and visit the learning center barn We have deep cozy couches and a quiet nook to read in. Our library is full of lovely books for all ages on all sorts of subjects about nature. You can even check them out to take home and enjoy.
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If heading outdoors is what you're really longing for, we also have snowshoes you can take for a spin. All you need is a little snow! Ask at the front desk if you're interested, and we'll be happy to supply you with the equipment to get going. Of course, it's first come, first serve, so get here early after the snow flies!
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If you have any suggestions for future newsletter articles or posts, please
contact us
we'd love to hear from you?
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What's happening
in the gardens?
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This year in several of the gardens, we left much of the dead material standing. Native insects depend on this spent vegetation for nesting spots. What was cut down, we scattered over the bare dirt, protecting it from erosion, nutrient loss, and seed protection.
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In the harvest garden, a nitrogen-fixing Winter Austrian Pea was planted to help build the soil. The goal is to apply some basic biodynamic gardening practices for vegetable gardening.
Look for future workshops on some of these techniques if you're interested in learning how you can grow your own vegetables and flowers for a more sustainable lifestyle.
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Join us for a special Valentine's evening event at the barn. Proceeds benefit the WPNR camp scholarship fund. There will be live entertainment, dinner, drinks, an auction, and more. Bring a date, or your pals for a fun evening that benefits a great cause. Hurry, tickets are selling fast!
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Workshops
Project Learning Tree is a free environmental education program for teachers, non-formal educators, homeschool parents, scout leaders, and anyone who teaches about trees. You will receive a free curriculum guide, learn how to use it, participate in the activities, and earn act 48 hours if applicable.
Register today to save your space!
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A work in progress...
We recently renovated the sundial at the children's play area with the generous help of Br. Lawrence Machia, which included mapping out the months of the year and time stamps.
We only painted the numbers to save our information until spring, when we plan to paint it with a whimsical design. So far, the weather has been very unkind to the paint used to mark it and we are now in rescue mode. We'll be making some physical marks so the snow and ice don't destroy the remaining marks.
For the next few months, the sundial won't be functional until we can make arrangements to repaint it with something more durable.
Stay tuned for our progress and warmer days when you can try your hand at the human analemmatic sundial.
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