Apiary Update - August 2011

The bees in the upper beehive are building up a nice size colony, says Burgh Bees Volunteer Jerry Repasky. However, the bees need to draw out more honeycomb in order that they can store more honey. “The bees are building up honeycomb, but in two or three frames the comb is not drawn out,” Repasky says. All ten bottom frames and two top frames of the hive have brood, which is larvae that will hatch, reports Repasky. While at the hive, Repasky placed more sugar syrup inside, ensuring the bees have enough food to draw out more comb. Repasky says the upper beehive won’t have any honey surplus this year because the bees will be too busy drawing comb.

The lower beehive is doing very well, according to Repasky. Both the bottom and top boxes have brood and honey all through them. “The brood is in a semi-circle pattern and honey is all around it. It’s a classic pattern and a very good functioning hive,” says Repasky. Due to the dry and hot weather recently, nectar flow has slowed; however, it will increase when the goldenrod flowers which surround the hives come into full bloom, notes Repasky. Nectar is the liquid inside a flower which bees put their tongues into in order to take back to the hive; at the hive, the bees put the nectar into honeycomb to create honey, explains Repasky. The lower beehive has enough honey and pollen stored to feed brood, but Repasky says the bees will want to bring in more pollen for winter reserves.

Repasky states one third of America’s agricultural crops, including apple, almond, orange, squash, tomato, pepper and alfalfa crops, depends on bees for pollination. Bees pollinate plants for plant reproduction and use the pollin to feed their brood. Repasky says honey is a secondary product that the bees make from nectar.

Apiary Update - May 2011

Burgh Bees Volunteer Jerry Repasky reports two queen bees are busy laying eggs in the two beehives located on the Cedars Hospice Center property. He notes the two beehive frames have eggs, larvae and brood present. Jerry finds the worker bees are busy drawing honeycomb and storing honey from the nectar flow and sugar syrup. "The upper hive has three-and-a-half-plus frames drawn comb and has eggs, larvae and capped brood surrounded with honey and pollen," said Repasky. "The lower hive has five-plus frames drawn, and there are eggs, larvae and capped brood with honey and pollen present." Jerry adds the bees are busy working the flowers of the honeysuckle bushes and the cherry blossoms and hawthorn blossoms all located around the hospice.

Permaculture Planting - May 2011

On Saturday, May 14, 2011, Steel City Soils President Jeff Newman and Octopus Organic Gardening Owner Jeff Jaeger continued to develop the Cedars Hospice Center's permaculture site - a forest garden which requires minimal maintenance and mimics a forest with intentionally placed plants for birds, bees, deer and people. Newman and Jaeger planted a blueberry shrub, a mulberry tree, an elderberry tree and two hazel bushes. Newman created beds on the hillside and planted them with perennial flowers and herbs as well as seeded them with a wildlife native mix for turkey and deer. " I want to get roots in the ground to slow down the water erosion on the bank and build topsoil, " said Newman. " We're designing a native forest with fruit-producing plants mixed in. "

Jaeger completed the construction of three benches. The posts are made out of locust trees and the seats hemlock slabs. "The benches are made out of locally sourced wood, " said Jaeger. "The black locust posts are naturally rot resistant and the hemlock slabs were locally milled. "

Family members and loved ones of current and former Cedars Hospice Center patients are encouraged to utilize the hospice apiary and permaculture garden as a means to promote healing during the end-of-life and bereavement periods.

2010 Cedars Permaculture and Bee Hive Project

There is excess land, cleared during construction, surrounding the newly constructed Cedars Hospice Center, completed April, 2010. The accessible portion of this area will be integrated with hospice care to families of hospice patients to promote healing as families go through the end of life process with their loved one, and then go through a period of bereavement. This will involve the development of a combination mini-apiary and permaculture site accessible to families of hospice patients and families in the bereavement program. The idea is to provide a place of re-created indigenous forest growth for families to sit in and connect to the wholeness of a sustainable area of plant, bee, butterfly, and bird life on our planet. The emotional, mental and spiritual connection to this biodiversity will help heal the grief of loss. Additionally, the bee population and native species forest habitat will be preserved in a way to make this area self-sustaining. Because the Cedars Community Hospice is a 501(c)(3) organization, this area will also become a real time onsite laboratory open by appointment for the education of the public, including college, high school and grade school students, land developers and hobbyists.

At the end of October or beginning of November, 2010, on a Saturday, we hope to recover saplings of native species in the forested area on the boundary of the hospice property with the Turnpike to transplant into the permaculture area. Hospice families and volunteers will be welcome, including Scout Troops whose members may be able to earn badges for this activity. If you are interested in receiving email notice of this event, please email The Cedars Charitable Foundation executive assistant, Jennie at jcarrillo@thecedarscharitablefoundation.org.

There will be a short fifteen minute presentation about the project in the hospice 3rd floor community room at the conclusion of the transplanting for anyone interested in learning about permaculture. This presentation will be repeated at the Tea & Coffee House event in the hospice 3rd floor community room on November 13 at 6:30 p.m.

The Project Team includes permaculture designer, Jeff Newman, Steel City Soils (www.steelcitysoils.com), and a non-profit promoting the preservation of our regional bee population, BurghBees (www.burghbees.com). The project team is lead by Cedars Community Hospice board member, John Silvestri (j.silvestri@thecedarscharitablefoundation.org).

The Cedars Community Hospice expresses appreciation to Sustainable Monroeville for recruiting speakers who have spoken on the topics of the crisis facing bee populations, bee keeping and permaculture to educate and enable our organization to conceive of this healing project. Sustainable Monroeville typically meets the first Monday of the month in the Monroeville Public Library. The Sustainable Monroeville meeting schedule is at www.sustainablemonroeville.blogspot.com.