beekeeping and campus sustainability

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


● 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


● 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!

beekeeping and campus sustainability

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