~ BURGH BEES COMMUNITY APIARY ~: POLLINATOR PERISCOPE: What's UP in the Apiary?

Sunday, April 4, 2010

POLLINATOR PERISCOPE: What's UP in the Apiary?

Easter is a fitting day to post our first monthly column, and this Sunday we invite you to observe a moment of gratitude for the beauty of spring here in Pittsburgh.

What's UP in your neck of the woods? Or better yet, what's blooming in your garden today? Send us a post - and your photographs - and join the conversation.

Later on this month Jeff Irwin will join us as your host for the Pollinator Periscope column. Until then, send us your comments, questions, garden news - and especially your garden photos.

"A man's interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town." ~ Henry David Thoreau

No comments:

Post a Comment

OUR COLUMNISTS

Linda Rathburn ~ Linda set up the original Burgh Bees Community Apiary Blog and served as its first general editor, from March through July of 2010, and as one of the contributing columnists and photographers. She also worked with Mary Anne Watson to produce the monthly Bee’s Eye View Kids' Page. "I've done time as a college English instructor, an art school librarian, and a public school teacher. I've been a paralegal, paraprofessional, and now, in the spirit of quasi-ness, a parablogger. Among my favorite educational experiences are substitute teaching a welding class and learning to start a backfire in a wildlife management class (ahh - playing with fire). I've taught online and onground, GED and GRE prep, Remedial Math to Alcosan employees and the relevance of Orwell to college students. I've never taught my cats a thing. My current goals in life are to open The Bigass Hardware Store (where my husband and I sell really BIG items like BIG snow shovels and BIG self-watering flowerpots) and to publish at least one of my books before I die. And - to get the hang - really the hang - of beekeeping.

Roberta Jones ~ Roberta has taken on the daunting task of coordinating fundraising efforts for the apiary - and for writing the monthly G R A C I A S column to provide members and donors with feedback on fundraising and events. Roberta will also be lending Burgh Bees her video and podcasting skills to get the word out about Pittsburgh's newest green venture. Roberta received her BSN from Carlow College and currently works as an Operating Room Registered Nurse. She worked her way through nursing school painting, wallpapering, and refinishing decks; past jobs include working as a Coating Sales Rep. She became interested in bees through her father, who has a small farm in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and registered her father, herself, and her brother for Burgh Bees' original 2009 beekeeper's class. Roberta's dad has been diagnosed with the first stages of Alzheimer's: "Beekeeping is keeping his mind sharp. I was impressed with the dynamic nature of Burgh Bees and jumped in - LOVE it."

Vivienne Shaffer and Frank Carr ~ Viv and Frank are currently residents of North Point Breeze and will be featuring newsworthy events and personalities, and their impact on our Homewood/Point Breeze neighborhood, in their monthly column, Neighborhood Buzz. Frank graduated from Pitt in 1982, and has worked as a community organizer, an editor, and a political organizer. Vivienne has a BS in Music Education from IUP and an MS Ed in museum leadership from Bank Street College. As a full-time homeschool mom, Viv is having a great time exploring new worlds, like the world of beekeeping, with her son. She has worked as an educator and museum director, and she currently volunteers at the Heinz History Center and at The First Tee of Pittsburgh. She is a Commonwealth Speaker for the PA Humanities Council, with a talk entitled "Rachel Carson, Pennsylvania, and the Nature Discovery Treasure Chest." An enthusiastic gardener, she is looking forward to welcoming the Burgh bees that will be buzzing across the busway to visit her yard.

Woody Shaffer Carr ~ Woody will be assisting Viv and Frank as a contributing reporter for the Neighborhood Buzz column. Woody is beginning his last year of high school in the fall of 2010 and works as a volunteer at Creative Nonfiction; among his interests are golf, ringing church bells, recycling, and of course, bees: "There's a lot of happiness in bees."

Mary Anne Watson ~ Mary Anne writes the monthly Bee's Eye View Kids' Page. She is a member of Burgh Bees' original 2009 beekeeper's class. As a second grade teacher at Fairless Elementary in Braddock, Mary Anne is uniquely positioned to deliver interesting and instructional mini-lessons to kids, and to understand the inner workings of bee behavior. Mary Anne also keeps two of her own hives in the backyard of her home in Wilkins Township and will be serving as one of the apiary's mentors to beginning beekeepers. "Every time I open my hive, I learn something new about bees. Every time I sit and observe bee behavior, I learn something new about myself."

~ BURGH BEES COMMUNITY APIARY ~

Sunday, April 4, 2010

POLLINATOR PERISCOPE: What's UP in the Apiary?

No comments:

Post a Comment

MONTHLY COLUMNS

POLLINATOR PERISCOPE

NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ

GRACIAS

BEE'S EYE VIEW

LINKS TO POLLINATOR GARDEN RESOURCES

FOLLOWERS

BLOG ARCHIVE

OUR COLUMNISTS

ABOUT US