~ BURGH BEES COMMUNITY APIARY ~

July 17th Workday Recap

2010-07-27T07:19:00.001-04:00

It was already warm at 8am when we gathered amidst the chicory, queen anne's lace, and clover at the apiary for the morning's clean up.

Apiary Director Steve Repasky quickly laid out the plan of attack and everyone jumped into the work.

A team of lawnmowers made short work of the overgrown meadow area.

A second group carefully handpicked the weeds along the burgeoning fence row of sunflowers, black-eyed susans, and goldenrod.

No bees were harmed as we pulled up the thistle that they were enjoying.

While that was happening, two deliveries of gravel were delivered and spread from the street to the apiary entrances.

Many hands made quick work of the clean-up and we had time to plant some herbs along the apiary fence and some comfrey around the trees near the street.

All the new plants got a decent soak and the bee's water was refreshed. By 11 am, when it was really hot, we had accomplished all the day's goals. Just in time for the afternoon open apiary, which was a grand success by all accounts!

Thanks to those who gave their time and energy: Gary, Rob, Viv, Steve, Jess, Jason, Jamie, Joe, Jen, Jack, Mike, and Lynnetta.

Change is in the air . . .

2010-07-24T01:21:00.008-04:00

Burgh Bees is at a crossroads.

As an organization, we are both at the brink of an exciting new phase in our development . . .

. . . and we are also experiencing the growing pains that change and progress inevitably bring.

The direction of the organization – and its success as a viable nonprofit with a mission in the community and to its members – will be determined over the next few weeks by those individuals in the community and among the membership willing to participate in the process.

The timetable is tight and will require members to accept the challenge of an extremely crowded agenda on July 29th – discussion of the proposed bylaws, voting on the bylaws, sorting through the qualifications of all nominated candidates, and voting eight of those candidates into office.

But I feel confident that the membership will bring to next Thursday’s meeting a clear willingness to engage the myriad issues on the table. As Burgh Bees grows our pool of talented members grows accordingly, and I’ve met and worked with some extraordinary individuals from the second class of students, this year’s 2010 graduates. Yet the first Burgh Bees class of students and potential beekeepers, the class of 2009, was unlike any other that will follow, and not only because it was the first. Everyone – everyone – sensed both the clear-eyed commitment to a worthy cause and the generosity of spirit that permeated everything these community leaders offered. As the Burgh Bees leadership changes, and as the identity of the organization inevitably changes with it, I know that I am not alone in hoping that the new directors will chart a course that retains that generous spirit of community as part of the Burgh Bees mission.

As for the Burgh Bees Community Apiary Blog, there will be changes here as well.

When the Apiary Committee first began discussing our purpose and plans, documentation of this first year was an important topic of conversation. We talked over format and content and agreed that an interactive, fluid rather than static medium, would best serve our purposes. It was decided that a blog documenting the apiary’s first year of activity, with that record later collated into electronic “book” form, would be easiest for a corps of volunteers to manage. And I think that’s served us well these first 4 months. But just as Burgh Bees will evolve into a more structured and representative organization as it grows larger, so too will the Apiary Blog and the website become more “managed” as the official tools of communication for our organization. This is a good thing :-)

On July 6th I sent an email to our regular columnists, and to the Directors, suggesting that the blog editorship be rotated, among those interested, on a quarterly basis. I knew I would be redirecting my energies toward returning to work fulltime in the fall, but I also felt that we needed to return more closely to our original vision of a fluid, interactive forum for documenting apiary events. I asked that anyone interested in taking on the blog editorship for what remained of the next quarter, through the end of September, get in touch with Director Jennie Wood. This was before news of the developing restructuring. Now that we will be voting on a president over the next few weeks, and that new officer will appoint a webmaster to manage both the website and the blog, the length of tenure for anyone taking over is also fluid and interactive :-) But I am pleased to report that Jeff Irwin, our current Pollinator Periscope columnist, has agreed to do just that. Jeff will serve as blog editor until we have a new Burgh Bees president, and I hope he will not find the job too daunting – and will be considered for the office of webmaster when that becomes available.

In closing, I will repeat what I said to our blog columnists and our current Directors: “I’ve felt very fortunate to have taken part in launching the Burgh Bees Community Apiary Blog, and to have helped shape the structure and column formats for this first quarter (April-May-June). But I feel most fortunate to have worked with each of you as contributing columnists, and have been very proud to be associated with such excellent writing – and writers . . . Thanks for your insight, your dedication, and your absolutely first-rate columns – we’ve done good work together :-) Linda”

2010-07-20T15:52:00.004-04:00

IMPORTANT MESSAGE to Burgh Bees Members

Since there appear to be some glitches in getting a recent email out to all those interested, we are reprinting the message and 2 attachments, in their entirety, below. Anyone interested in participating, regardless of how late you may have received notice, is strongly urged to speak up – and please plan to attend the upcoming meetings. Thanks!

Begin forwarded message:
From: "Joseph Zgurzynski"
Date: July 18, 2010 10:46:53 PM EDT
Subject: Burgh Bees Bylaws and Officers

Calling all Burgh Bees!
Burgh Bees is going to make the leap to become an organized beekeeping club on July 29th at 7:00 pm at the Allegheny County Extension Office in Homewood on the 3rd floor of 400 North Lexington Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15208-2521 (check in at the security office).

Bylaws
The purpose of this meeting is to adopt bylaws and elect officers. Draft Bylaws are attached to this email. Please email any suggested changes to BurghBees@gmail.com for consideration as part of the adoption process.

Nomination Process
Until now Burgh Bees has been run by a core group of very passionate beekeepers acting as the directors of Burgh Bees. Now seems to be the right time to organize the membership. All of the current Directors are seeking new roles in the organization. We are accepting nominations for the following positions: the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster, and four Directors. The webmaster will be appointed by the incoming president. Self nomination encouraged! Of the current directors the following are nominated for leadership positions in the new framework of the organization:

Treasurer - Michael Masiuk
Director, Three Year Term – Joe Zgurzynski
Director, Two Year Term – Steve Repasky

Clearly we need more nominations! Please email nominations to BurghBees@gmail.com. Candidates should provide a brief statement. A list of candidates, with a brief statement from each candidate, will be emailed to the membership on July 22nd. There will be an opportunity to meet the candidates at the regular beekeepers meet up on July 27th at 7:00 pm at the Carson City Saloon on the Southside at 1401 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA. Nominations will be accepted right up to the time of voting. Some potential candidates have expressed concern that they are not ‘experienced’ beekeepers. Beekeeping experience is not a requirement! The only requirements for a leadership position are a passion for beekeeping and a willingness to lead the membership.

Voting
In order to vote you must be a dues paying member of Burgh Bees. A membership form is attached to this email. Annual dues of $10 may be paid at the meeting or ahead of time by mail. In order to have a viable organization our goal is to have at least 100 dues paying members. Currently we are far short of that goal.
If you have any questions, please contact Joe Zgurzynski of Jennifer Wood of the bylaws and nominations committee by emailing: BurghBees@gmail.com

Burgh Bees is an all volunteer organization working in partnership with Penn State Cooperative Extension “To educate beekeepers and promote beekeeping as a vital part of sustainable agriculture in Pittsburgh and its suburbs.”

ATTACHMENT 1

DRAFT BYLAWS OF BURGH BEES

These Draft Bylaws will be proposed to the membership, after proper notice, at a special meeting to be held on Thursday July 29th 2010 at 7:00 pm at the Allegheny County Extension Office in Homewood on the 3rd floor of 400 North Lexington Street Pittsburgh, PA 15208-2521 (check in at the security office). If these bylaws are adopted in whole or in part with changes as an amendment according to Article XI of this draft, the newly adopted bylaws will replace any preexisting organizational structuring of Burgh Bees. If bylaws are adopted officers will be elected immediately according to the procedures outlined in the newly adopted bylaws. No elections will be held at the November 2010 meeting except to fill vacancies.

ARTICLE I — NAME
The name of the organization shall be Burgh Bees. It shall be a nonprofit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Pennsylvania.

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE AND MISSION
Section 2.1
Burgh Bees is structured as a club exclusively for charitable, scientific and education purposes. The purpose of this corporation is to educate beekeepers and promote beekeeping as a vital part of sustainable agriculture in Pittsburgh and its suburbs. In particular, these activities include educating school children, beekeepers, and the public about honey bees; assisting beekeepers with setting up and managing their apiaries; and doing such fund-raising activities as necessary and proper to acquire the resources to accomplish the above activities.

Section 2.2
To further the above purposes, the Burgh Bees has adopted the following Mission Statement:
“To educate beekeepers and promote beekeeping as a vital part of sustainable agriculture in Pittsburgh and its suburbs.”

Section 2.3
Burgh Bees has established a partnership with the Penn State Cooperative Extension. In recognition of that partnership all official correspondence, documents, signage and the website
will have a statement such as “In Partnership with Penn State Cooperative Extension” and or the Penn State Cooperative Extension logo whenever reasonably possible.

ARTICLE III: Membership List
Section 3.1
The Membership List is a list of the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of the current year’s paid members. Members give the Club permission to list their contact information on the Membership List at the time they pay their dues each year. The Membership List is a Valuable Asset of the Corporation and is to be protected.

Section 3.2
The Membership List will never be provided in any form to any outside group. This includes, but is not limited to, the Pennsylvania Beekeepers Association, Penn State, other bee clubs, bee suppliers, commercial bee magazines, or any other third party.

Section 3.3
The Membership Form enrolls members in the Club, facilitates the payment of dues, and tacitly grants permission to the Burgh Bees to include each person’s contact information in the Membership List.

Section 3.4
The President must approve all requests to contact the Membership List.

Section 3.5
All contacts with the Membership List will be made by the Secretary or other person acting with the approval of the President in the absence of the Secretary.

ARTICLE IV: WEBSITES
Section 4.1
The Website www.BurghBees.com is the Proprietary Intellectual Property of the Corporation and most pages of the Website will be protected by copyright where appropriate.

Section 4.2
The Websites are the primary point of communication of the Club with the broader community.

Section 4.5
All actions of the Webmaster in regard to the Websites must be approved by the President.

ARTICLE V: MEMBERSHIP
Section 5.1
Any person who is interested in honey bees or who is a beekeeper may join.

Section 5.2
Membership is on an annual basis, the year running from October first through September thirtieth of the following year.

Section 5.3
Dues shall be set by the Board of Directors and are payable on October first of every year. In order to vote on issues before the Club, members must have paid their dues for that year.

Section 5.4
No part of the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributed to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of its nonprofit purposes.

ARTICLE VI: MEETINGS
Section 6.1
The Board of Directors shall establish the day and time of the regular meetings. Notice of the time, location, and program of each meeting shall be sent to all paid members by either email or United States Postal Service at least one week prior to the meeting.

Section 6.2
The Annual Meeting of the Club will be held at the regular November meeting. The purpose of this meeting is the election of Directors and Officers, and presentation of annual reports.

Section 6.3
Fifteen paid members of the Club will constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Section 6.4
Robert’s Rules of Order shall be used to resolve any parliamentary questions. The order of business for all meetings shall be the following:
a. Call to order
b. Reading of the minutes of the previous meeting
c. Reading of the Treasurer’s report
d. Recognition of new members and guests
e. Old business
f. New business
g. At the Annual Meeting, election of new Directors and Officers.
h. Adjournment

ARTICLE VII: OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
Section 7.1
Not more than one person from a family may be an Officer or Director at the same time.

Section 7.2
The Board of Directors shall consist of nine people: the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster, and four Directors.
The Executive Officers of the Club shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Webmaster. The President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer are elected by the members of the Club at the Annual Meeting in November. The Webmaster is appointed by the President.

Section 7.3
The President is elected for a two-year term. The Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer are elected for one year terms. The Webmaster serves at the pleasure of the President.
The terms of the Directors are as follows: One Director shall serve a three year term. One Director shall serve a two year term. Two Directors shall serve a one year term.

Section 7.4
The Officers and Directors are elected by the members of the Club at the Annual Meeting in November.
Any Officer or Director may resign by giving written notice to the President or the Secretary of the Club. Such resignation shall be effective at the time specified in the notice.
Any Officer or Director may be removed from the Board, with or without cause, by a vote of a majority of the Officers and Directors, or by a vote of a majority of the paid Members.
Whenever there is a vacancy on the Board, for whatever reason, the President will appoint a replacement. This person will serve until the next Annual Meeting and Election of Officers, at which time a permanent replacement will be elected by the members.

ARTICLE VIII: DUTIES OF DIRECTORS
Section 8.1
The Board of Directors shall direct the business and affairs of the Club, make all rules and regulations governing these activities, and plan the programs for the year.

Section 8.2
The Board of Directors shall meet four times a year in December, March, June, and September. The date and time of these meetings will be set by the Board. Special meetings of the Board may be held at the discretion of the Board.

Section 8.3
A majority of the Board of Directors (five) shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Board. Members of the Board of Directors may vote on issues before the Board in person, by telephone, or in writing by either email or the United States Postal Service.

Section 8.4
No Director, Officer, or member of the Club shall receive any salary or compensation for services rendered to the Club, unless approved by vote of a quorum of the members of the Board at a regular Board meeting.

ARTICLE IX: DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 9.1
The President shall:
a. Preside over all meetings of the Club and of the Board of Directors.
b. Call special meetings when required.
c. Perform all acts and duties of an executive and presiding officer, including appointing committees.
d. Approve all broadcast emails prior to being sent to all the members by the Secretary.
e. Approve all additions to, changes in, and deletions from the Website proposed by the Webmaster.
f. Appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of two members.
g. Appoint an auditing committee consisting of three members, one of whom is a member of the Board of Directors, to audit the books kept by the Treasurer and report to the membership at the Annual Meeting.
h. Select an Historian to maintain records of Club activities.

Section 9.2
The Vice President shall:
a. Perform all the duties of the President when the President is absent.
b. Assist the Board in implementing programs.

Section 9.3
The Secretary shall:
a. Keep a complete written record of all meetings of the Club and of the Board of Directors.
b. In cooperation with the Treasurer, maintain a complete list of paid members, their names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.
c. All emails to the Roster shall be addressed to the Secretary with blind copies to the Roster.
d. Send the minutes of the regular monthly meetings to the members by either email or the United States Postal Service.
e. Send information to the members after approval from the President.
f. Write letters as requested by the President or Board of Directors.
g. Send all notices required by these Bylaws or requested by the President.
h. In cooperation with the Treasurer, notify members in September of the October 1 dues payment date.

Section 9.4
The Treasurer shall:
a. Assure that the Club is at all times in compliance with the IRS rules for a non-profit corporation, including, but not limited to, maintaining complete financial records and filing annual tax returns.
b. Execute the Corporation Filings with the State of Pennsylvania, as needed, and pay required fees.
c. Keep full and accurate account of all the financial transactions of the Club in books belonging to the Club, and deliver such books to a successor Treasurer.
d. Maintain savings and/or checking accounts in the name of Burgh Bees and receive and disburse funds in these accounts.
e. Sign as Treasurer all checks and other financial transactions of the club.
f. Pay all bills.
g. Keep a record of all property and equipment owned by the Club.
h. In cooperation with the Secretary, maintain a complete list of paid members, their names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.
i. In cooperation with the Secretary, notify members during the month of September of the October 1st dues payment date.

Section 9.5
The Webmaster shall:
a. Manage the Website www.BurghBees.com, as well as the club’s social networking accounts.
b. Consult with the President about the design and content of the websites. The President has final authority in all matters relating to the Website.

ARTICLE X: DISSOLUTION OF THE COPORATION
Section 10.1
Upon the dissolution of the corporation, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for public purpose. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by a Court of Competent Jurisdiction of the county in which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes or to such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS
Section 11.1
These Bylaws may be amended at any meeting of the Club provided:
a. The proposed Amendment is provided by email to all paid members and in writing to the paid members at the regularly scheduled meeting prior to the meeting at which the proposed Amendment will be voted on.
b. Paid members receive ten days notice of the meeting at which the Amendment will be voted on, and that the proposed Amendment is included in the notice.
c. The proposed Amendment will pass with yes votes from three quarters of the paid members present.
Adopted:

ATTACHMENT 2

Burgh Bees Pollinator Membership
As a Pollinator You Will Receive:
- Monthly E-Bulletins with all the juicy bee news and local events - Free Admission to Burgh Bees' Open Apiaries - Discounted Admissions to other Burgh Bees events - Infinite Gratitude from the Burgh Bees Community
To become a Pollinator, send a $10 check made out to “Burgh Bees” with this form.
NAME _____________________________________________
ADDRESS __________________________________________
PHONE NUMBER ____________________________________
EMAIL ADDRESS ____________________@____________________
PLEASE INDICATE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING THAT APPLY TO YOUR EXPERIENCE:
NEW BEEKEEPER _____ HOBBYIST _____ PROFESSIONAL BEEKEEPER ______
I PRESENTLY HAVE ____________ BEE HIVES
INTERESTED IN ATTENDING A BEGINNER WORKSHOP _______________
INTERESTED IN ATTENDING W. PA BEEKEEPING SEMINAR _____________
Membership in Burgh Bees is $10. Membership in PA State Beekeepers Association is $20. We encourage membership in both groups.
PLEASE PRINT OUT AND COMPLETE THIS APPLICATION AND MAIL ALONG WITH YOUR $5 CHECK
MADE PAYABLE TO: Burgh Bees
ADDRESSED TO: Burgh Bees C/O
Michael Masiuk
Penn State Cooperative Extension
400 North Lexington Street Pittsburgh, PA 15208-2521

Neighborhood Buzz . . . by Joan Guerin

2010-07-11T23:36:00.009-04:00

City Bees on the Farm

A couple of years ago I found myself with an empty nest and a future full of postponed possibilities. My farmer wanna-bee genes were kicking in. I took an organic gardening class through Phipps Conservatory that happened to be taught by Barb Kline from Mildreds’ Daughters Urban Farm. On the last day of class, we students visited her farm – 5 agricultural acres in the middle of a Stanton Heights neighborhood of circa 1950 brick homes. We all checked out the fields, the crops, the bugs, and the soil. We heard the plans for a hoop house and next year’s crop rotation. Then Barb asked, “Who’d like to do a volunteer for the CSA next year?” “Ooo Ooo – me, me, me!!” I raised my hand and jumped up and down like a school kid. And that was that. By the next year, I was planting seedlings in the spring, harvesting in the fall and doing everything else there is to do in between. I was farming!

At the same time, I was enrolled in the first class of wanna-beekeepers through Burgh Bees. The more I learned, the deeper I wanted to get into it. The only thing to do was to keep some hives of my own. So, after a season of consideration, Barb and her partner Randa graciously agreed to let me bring hives to the farm. In April, Robert Steffes -- with the help of Steve Repasky -- delivered my first hive to the farm. It was a proud moment when Robert handed over the hive tool to me. I’ve been at it, happily, ever since. And so have the bees. At least I think they may have something to do with the blueberry bushes being so laden with fruit this year!

Since the bees have arrived at the farm, we’ve all been considerate about their plant preferences. We planted some borage outside of the hoop house to coax them inside to work on the tomatoes there. We planted hundreds of sunflowers along with rudbeckia, aster, sage, anise hyssop and more. The wooded hillside below the hive site is, of course, loaded with Japanese Knotweed and many native pollinator favorites.

As of last month, the bees have new neighbors: ten young chickens raised from peeps share the same fenced yard. I watched as one of them snatched a firefly in mid-air the first day she was out and wondered whether she’d try that with a bee. I figure the chicks and bees will work it out. And why not? They have the best of both worlds: a lush working farm in the middle of the fun and interesting city of Pittsburgh.

I’m thankful to share that space with them – at least for a few days out of the week.

Pollinator Periscope . . . by Jeff Irwin

2010-07-11T22:33:00.006-04:00

July - A Bee’s World

The queen pokes her head into the cell, sizes up the situation, and determines the type of egg to lay. Smaller cells house fertilized eggs that will develop into female worker bees and slightly larger cells receive unfertilized eggs that will become male drones. It’s the first instance of how the bee’s environment impacts its life, even before it enters the world.

Once hatched, the worker bee spends the first couple of weeks of its life inside the fascinating architecture of the hive. The hexagonal comb pattern leaves no wasted gaps, and the cells are capable of storing everything needed by the colony, including developing brood, pollen, nectar, and honey. Depending on its age and current role, the interior worker bee tends to the contents of these cells.

Our hives at the apiary are based on the movable frame design pioneered by Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth. His discovery of “bee space”, the ideal gap between frames, ~ 3/8”, allowed for removal of frames without destroying comb. Bees control their colony’s environment quite precisely, and any bee space violations will be quickly remedied. Gaps smaller than 3/8” will be filled with propolis and larger gaps will be filled with honeycomb.

Honeybee colonies are not autotrophs and rely on the plant world outside of the hive for sustenance. In his blog, Kim Flottum recently estimated how much bees eat. As he put it, “the rule of thumb is that it takes an acre of flowers to feed a colony of bees. But that's a constant acre of bloom to feed a colony of bees, not just a field of dandelions blooming in May then gone and the bees have enough for the rest of the year. Nope, doesn't work that way.” It’s clear that the ½ acre garden around our apiary won’t be sufficient for the multiple hives on site even if we plant as densely as possible, up vertically, and with a well-timed succession of blooms. The bees will forage elsewhere, expanding their world in search of their continuous acre of flowers. Another general rule of thumb is that they’ll go anywhere from 1-2 miles to find them.

For most bees in a stationary hive, this foraging zone represents the limits of their world. But queens and drones may travel further to drone congregation areas. As the name implies, these are places the drones gather in hopes of mating with a virgin queen. They tend to stay established over multiple years—and many generations of drones—and it’s still unknown how queens find them. For additional reading, Bee Culture sums up the state of our understanding of drone congregation areas.

That’s the world as the bee might experience it. In an upcoming Pollinator Periscope we’ll look at the beekeeper’s world--the larger, more abstract areas that also impact the hive.
--
Recently blooming plants that are hopefully in your local bee colony’s foraging area: sunflowers, blazing star, bee balm, oregano, lemon balm, echinacea.

G R A C I A S . . . Linda Rathburn

2010-06-20T21:14:00.012-04:00

A special G R A C I A S column going out to all our dads . . .

Father’s Day Weekend :: June 19, 2010
Girls, Math & Science Partnership (GMSP) Explores Beekeeping with Burgh Bees

On June 19, Burgh Bees hosted a group of young women and their parents as part of the Carnegie Science Center’s Girls, Math & Science Partnership’s "Tour Your Future" program, held at Joe Zgurzynski's Country Barn Farm in O'Hara Township. The program was coordinated by Athena Aardweg, Weekend Program Manager of the GMSP, an innovative Science Center program for girls age 11-17 (read more about it below). The Burgh Bees team included Joe, Jennie Wood, Mary Anne Watson, Joan Guerin, Eva Barinas, and Linda Rathburn. After gathering near the barn and donning veils and gloves, the dads and daughters trooped up the hill to Joe's hives for a first-hand look and lecture on beekeeping basics, safety, and apiary etiquette. Jennie, Joe, Athena, Joan, and Eva fielded questions and then moved the group back to the barn for a closer look at the demo hive and a lesson in bee biology with Mary Anne. Everyone had a chance to get up close and personal with the bees - under glass in the demo hive and under glass at the microscope - and to take a break with several types of seasonal honey and a long cold drink of water. Beekeeping is hot, hard work in the summertime, and we hope that our guests at Saturday's "Tour Your Future" event left with a better understanding - and appreciation - of our stewardship of the fascinating, indispensable - and endangered - Apis mellifera.

Eva Barinas: “It was so exciting to see how interested everyone was despite some hesitation about being so close to honeybees. Once we did gather to get a closer look, fear evaporated and curiosity took over.”

Joan Guerin: “I imagined myself at that age learning about beekeeping and I think it would have been a great influence on me, whether I adopted it right away or not. I was so heartened by the parents who made the effort to expose their daughters to such interesting and unusual possibilities!”

Linda Rathburn: “I couldn’t help remembering that when I was their age – about 50 years ago :-) - I wanted to be a farmer when I grew up. But we weren’t encouraged – as girls – to be farmers. Today’s young women really have no limitations, and so my advice would be: try things on. Turn in the direction of what makes you happy – of what’s interesting and mysterious – and you’ll find a good fit.”

Like to know more about the Carnegie Science Center’s Girls, Math & Science Partnership? Log on to http://www.braincake.org/ and read more about it. Here’s the story from the website:

The Girls, Math & Science Partnership's mission is to engage, educate, and embrace girls as architects of change. Working with girls age 11 - 17 and their parents, teachers, and mentors, we draw organizations, stakeholders, and communities together in an effort to ensure that girls succeed in math and science.

If this is your first BrainCake experience, enjoy! BrainCake is one of many programs we have at the Girls, Math & Science Partnership. We are proud to have a Web site that reaches girls from around the globe who are interested in changing the world with math and science!

For many of you, you've been to BrainCake many times, or experienced one of our programs or events. You view this site as a resource - a resource for yourself, your daughter, a student in your classroom, or someone you mentor. The Girls, Math & Science Partnership is exactly that - an innovative, compelling, high-quality resource for education, information, research and advocacy on gender equality in the sciences.

We're here to help girls be confident, solve problems, and think independently. We engage girls in current science, helping them understand its relevance to their life today. We create and link girls to programs that educate and prepare them to understand and use science in their everyday lives. And, we embrace girls as architects of change - envisioning, planning, organizing, shaping, and building a better world - with math and science as their tools.

We know girls can change the world. We're just a great resource to help.

1 Mary Anne warming up before the group is ready to head out to the hives

L to R: Linda's dad, Ken Mastron; Mary Anne's dad, Clarence Ungerman; Mary Anne Watson

2 The demo hive is a safe and effective teaching tool

3 The first group of dads and daughters arrives at Joe's hives up on the hill behind the barn

4 Getting ready to open the hives

5 Up close and personal with Apis mellifera

6 Protective clothing - veil, jacket, gloves, and raised socks - is essential to maintaining a respectful relationship with the bees we steward. But on a day like Saturday it is HOT stuff as well :-)

7 Jennie stops to field some questions

8 Back upstairs at the barn, Mary Anne talks bees

9 Finding the queen is much easier with the demo hive

10 Students of all ages find the "secret life of bees" a source of endless fascination

11 View through the microscope
12 Jennie explains the differences in seasonal honey varieties common to western Pennsylvania, and guests can sample the honey (and the honey cookies on offer) for themselves. Cooking with honey - as with most things bee-related - can be both challenging and rewarding.

13 Joe and Jennie address final questions from the group - and this group was "the bees' knees" when it came to questions! (DO bees sleep? Check out these two websites for an answer: http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/agnic/bee/faq.asp?qid=38 and http://www.britishbee.org.uk/faq.php - scroll down a ways.)
14 The Future Beekeepers of America - Thanks to each of the dads and daughters who participated for sharing your Saturday afternoon with us - G R A C I A S !

NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ . . . Linda Rathburn

2010-06-13T21:11:00.018-04:00

BURGH BEES COMMUNITY APIARY :: Grand Opening Picnic

Sunday afternoon at the Apiary: good neighbors and good friends joined Burgh Bees members and volunteers to celebrate the Grand Opening of the country's first community apiary. And this may have been the best bargain in Pittsburgh this weekend - for a $5 donation (to a buzzworthy cause) guests enjoyed a potluck picnic spread under the food tents, Scott Smith's inimitable East End brewski, live music and poetry readings, a raffle ticket for one of several baskets of beekeeping items, a tour of the apiary - and the best company in town.
~ click on photos for a full-screen view

1 Robert and Steve check out the truckload of plants-for-sale Barb and Randa brought along as donations from Mildreds' Daughters Urban Farm

2 Good eats!

3 Joan is always on hand to give a hand
4 Beekeeper Frank McNutt and Woody discuss the differences among seasonal honey varieties
5 Plants donated for sale by Barb Kline and Randa Shannon, our friends from Mildreds' Daughters Urban Farm, proved to be a popular and profitable fundraiser
6 Robert tends bar - a keg from good neighbor Scott Smith of East End Brewing Company (conveniently right across the street)

7 Guests arrived early and stayed late - and the rain - for once - stayed away
8 The Two Joes

9 Musicians Luci Tedesco, Valery Pinchuk, and Ken Haney made dining alfresco - delizioso!
10 Hot as it was on Sunday, Ron turned up the heat on the grill and turned out the summer's best burgers - THANKS, Ron!

11 Meredith introduces the crowd to the Burgh Bees Directors - - -
12 - - - and the Burgh Bees Apiary Committee

13 Jenny and Joe assist Little Joe in drawing one of the winning raffle tickets
14 A $5 donation bought guests a tableful of picnic food, good music (and poetry!), good company, good beer - and maybe a basketful of beekeeping goodies

15 Steve gets ready to give the apiary tour to our guests - including Pittsburgh Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak
16 Meredith and Alex trade stories with The Bee Hunter - whose goal is "to take good bees out of bad places . . . and give 'em to good people!"

17 Charmaine McDonald and family, celebrating her birthday with the bees!
Top row: Tannie, Earl, Teeahja. Bottom row: Tisha, Teeonna, and Birthday Girl Charmaine
18 Tanya Todd graced the gathering with a beautiful reading of poems by friend and local poet Joda

19 Open air poetry - only at the Apiary
20 Joda shares his poems (and we've shared a copy below)

21 Joda and local artist Lucia M. Aguirre discuss today's readings
22 Burgh Bees Directors Jennie Wood and Robert Steffes say THANKS! to everyone who made today's celebration such a success

Of Human Bonding and Trust
- a poem by Joda

Kind words and deeds are an important
part of the nucleus on Human Bonding.

Of equal importance, ingredients, such as
communication, listening, understanding,
sincerity, and consistency are the glue
and the cement that connects and combines
the love and the respect, that each one can
bring with them and share.

It will also help to improve and make stronger
the friendship, endear the trust, as well as the
spiritual belonging, and to show that we care.

Allow it to flow naturally; observe and behold;
and we will be able to see the beauty as it unfolds,
right before our very eyes. Indeed, what a pleasant
surprise! Peace. Brother Joda

POLLINATOR PERISCOPE . . . by Jeff Irwin

2010-06-06T17:55:00.025-04:00

June: A Bee’s Place

This month, let’s focus our attention on the Susquehanna Street site.

If you're new to our blog, take a moment to catch up with previous posts on all the activities that have taken place in the past month: bee curious neighbors came together for a honey tasting party, Westinghouse HS students energized the site with their enthusiastic volunteering, community and city leaders officially inaugurated the site, and the first open apiary at the new location was well attended. Lots of great activity and plenty of buzz!

Not to mention that several hives and many plants are becoming established in the apiary and pollinator garden. While there’s still much work to be done, it’s shaping up to be a great place for bees.

Even in these initial stages we can note several important features that you can use to create your own great bee place. First off, and most noticeably as you approach the site, there’s a solid fence surrounding the apiary that serves multiple functions. It protects the hives from wind and predators. It also forces bees to adjust their flight path upwards to a height where they hopefully won’t be a nuisance to anyone. Such a fence just might be the most important tool for good beekeeping in dense urban areas.

Inside the fence, we can see the hives arranged so that the entrances face south. This helps maximize exposure to the sun’s warmth, particularly in the morning, and revs the bees up for a full day’s work. There’s a water source inside the fence. In our case, it’s a simple large container of water that gets refreshed regularly. Bees generally don’t hover to drink, so it’s important to provide surfaces that they can land on. In this case, we’ve used old wine bottle corks.

There’s also an unintended water source for bees. After heavy rains, the water flows down the slope and onto the asphalt where it forms very shallow pools. It’s pretty cool to watch the bees walk along the ground sipping.

A good water source is perhaps the second most important feature for good urban beekeeping. Around your home, you could also place some rocks in a shallow birdbath or let bees crawl into a spigot set to drip very slowly.

Outside of the fence is the pollinator garden portion of the site. It’s very much a work in progress, more potential than finished product. We’re still building soil to support our castles in the air, and finding out which plants take to the site and which don’t. In other words, we’re learning and the adventure continues.

Hopefully you’ll consider helping bees in your garden by planting some pollinator plants or even just letting the “weeds” flower for a bit. Offer sources of pollen, nectar or water—without using any pesticides—and the bees will come, along with many other beneficial insects.

The last element in our site tour sums up the attitude needed to establish a great place for bees, for pollinator plants, and for visitors:

We’re having this Party, Please Come

…the flowering garden is a place you immediately sense is thick with information, thick as a metropolis, in fact. It’s an oddly sociable, public sort of place, in which species seem eager to give one another the time of day; they dress up, flirt, flit, visit ~

--- Michael Pollan - The Botany of Desire

Help us celebrate the grand opening of our place for bees on Susquehanna Street! Potluck dish and $5 donation requested, folding chair or blanket recommended. Click on the invite image for a larger view.

Not sure what to say to that social butterfly or shrinking violet at the party that you’d like to meet? Recently flowering plants are always a surefire conversation starter.

Buttercups: I didn’t know that these were good pollinator plants, but a wise elder beek said so. Who am I to go against the word?

Canadian Thistle: Perhaps best appreciated along roadsides or in fictional “rather boggy and sad” places. This is a pretty good pollinator plant, but it sure does take over if you let it. Somewhere, though, I’m sure there’s a hardcore pollinator protector who lets this into the yard on purpose.

Clover (white and red): A life in clover with a field full of bees - can anything be better?

Comfrey: Beloved by permaculturists for its roots that dive deep into the lower soil horizons, and by bumblebees that love its flowers.

Hyacinth: Another great bumblebee plant with lots of bell-shaped flowers. Be careful tossing Frisbees around them, though.

Chives, Raspberries: The edibles mentioned last month have flowered and, in the case of the raspberries, fruited.

Sage: For a couple of days, it seemed like I couldn’t go anywhere without seeing another flowering sage. We live in an abundantly beautiful place.

Lamb’s Ear: This is a fun, tactile plant with tiny purple flowers that bees really go for.

Angelica: While only mildly interesting to bees, angelica nourishes a ton of beneficial insects. Not to mention it’s an ingredient in gin. Cheers!

Catmint: A favorite bee plant in public gardens, these purple flowers last well into the summer.
Coreopsis: Great yellow flowers on top of all that spiky green!

Cornflower or Batchelor’s Button: Vibrant blue flowers that bees like, a perfect boutonniere for the beekeeping prom
~ or apiary grand opening . . . Jeff Irwin

Post your comments to Jeff - and observations on what's UP in your neck of the woods - directly below.
And watch for Jeff's column on the First Sunday of every month.

G R A C I A S

2010-05-31T23:09:00.002-04:00

Photo by Benjamin D. Esham for the Wikimedia Commons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Reflections_of_Earth_9.jpg

OVER THE TOP!

Check out the Kickstarter site at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/meyergrelli/a-community-apiary-in-pittsburgh?pos=1

66 Backers / $3,695 PLEDGED of $3,500 goal

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYBODY!

BURGH BEES OPEN APIARY

2010-05-23T21:57:00.006-04:00

Another great day at the Apiary.

On Sunday Burgh Bees hosted the year's first Open Apiary, from 1 to 3 at the Susquehanna Street site. The event was rained out from its originally scheduled date on Saturday, and given the last minute change in plans and the hot muggy weather on Sunday, we had a surprisingly good turnout of Burgh Bees members, neighbors, and friends. Steve Repasky and Robert Steffes introduced the bee-curious to the complicated art of opening active hives for observation. Veils and gloves were provided, and our guests included some very young - and intrepid - future beekeepers. Take a look:

4 trumpet vines, 8 ilex, 8 hawthorns, 1 Siamese cat - ready to transplant

Newly transplanted trumpet vine ready to take off and over the busway fence

Burgh Bees member Jeff Irwin came out today to transplant donated herbs to the 3 pollinator garden planters

Planter 1 features several varieties of thyme

Planter 2 is the 'pasta planter' - the large sage plant at the center was donated by Viv Shaffer

And Planter 3 will hold the balance of those bee-friendly plants researched, selected, and settled in by Burgh Bees member Anna Kim and our workday volunteers

Sunday's Best - Guests Gearing up for the May 23rd Open Apiary

Burgh Bees' Steve Repasky and Robert Steffes were on hand Sunday to give visitors a bee's eye view of the art of beekeeping

Sunday's Open Apiary was a family affair - on the left - John, Maddie, and Elise Silvestri

And on the right - Meghan and Corinne Olson

Our hosts

Hands-on learning with the Burgh Bees hives

The new sign looks great - and will look even better surrounded by plants (come on out and give us a hand at the next Apiary Workday!)

A few sidebar notes . . .

Burgh Bees members and apiary neighbors Terri Howard and Ron McConnell were on hand to help out and help everyone stay cool with iced down apple cider – our hosts with the most – thanks Terri and Ron.

Taylor Call donated a tray of black-eyed Susans to add to our busway fence planting – G R A C I A S !

John Silvestri offered up some sound strategy suggestions on dealing with less than bee-friendly neighbors, and we are grateful for his input and advice.

Mary Ellen and Mark Meyer stopped by to check out the apiary’s progress since they last worked so hard with us on previous workdays. While we could all see that the seeds planted 2 weeks ago are sprouting, the weeds are sprouting faster – and the thistles are cropping up with a vengeance. Mary Ellen recommended tough gloves and a no-mercy weed-out day – perhaps before the next workday.

Which brings us to “Upcoming Events” – check out the website or send us a line at communication.bb@gmail.com for details, comments, questions.

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, May 25 . . . . . . Burgh Bees Beekeeper Meetup
Saturday May 29 . . . . . . Phipps Talk: Bees & Gardens
Saturday, June 5 . . . . . . United Nations World Environment Day: Pittsburgh 2010 Host City
Sunday, June 13 . . . . .Burgh Bees Volunteer Potluck
Monday, June 21 . . . . . . National Pollinator Week
Thursday, June 24 . . . . . Burgh Bees Screening: Nicotine Bees & Botany of Desire
Saturday, June 26 . . . Burgh Bees Open Apiary
Monday, June 28 . . . . . . BVABA Meeting
Tuesday, June 29 . . . . . . Burgh Bees Beekeeper Meetup
Saturday, July 10 . . . . . .BVABA Out-yard Picnic & Meeting
Fri/Sat, July 23-24 . . . . .PSBA Summer Picnic
Saturday, July 31 . . . . . .Farmers @ Firehouse: Cooking with Honey

Thanks to Christina Neumann, Burgh Bees e-bulletin editor

MAY Kids' Page

2010-05-23T12:31:00.007-04:00

Sunday, May 23, 2010
BEE'S EYE VIEW . . . by Mary Anne Watson

Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim - see (1) below

The life cycle of Apis mellifera

"There was an Old Lady who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children she didn't know what to do!"

So the nursery rhyme begins that all children can recite by heart, even before they can read. Ever wonder how that "Old Lady" kept so many children inside that shoe? Well, long before that nursery rhyme was written, Apis mellifera (the scientific name for the honey bee) had everything figured out.

The queen bee is the original lady in the shoe, but she lives in a hive with her many thousands of children. Yes, thousands!

Every honey bee begins its life as a tiny egg. This is the first of three stages, or different appearances, that the bee will have before it will look like what is a typical honey bee. Each new egg has its own little room in the hive called a cell. The eggs look like a tiny grain of white rice inside the cell. That's a lot of rooms when you think about the queen laying as many as 1,500 eggs a day!

After about 3 days, the egg begins to develop into a glistening white larva. This is the second stage. At first, the larva looks like a small letter "C" lying at the bottom of the cell. Here the larva is cared for by other bees.

Everything the larvae need is given to them; they just lie around glistening and looking spectacularly white. After about 6 days the caring bees seal the cell with the larva inside. The cap is made from beeswax. So while the cell is sealed or capped the larva stretches itself out lengthwise and spins a thin silken cocoon. Now the magic begins. Inside the capped cell the larva changes its form to an adult honey bee. The compound eyes begin to appear - big, round and brownish purple. Then the body begins to gradually take on the form of the adult bee that we all know and love. All of this magic takes roughly 8 to 14 days.

Mother's Day may be Swarm Day

From the beginning of their existence the queen bee and all her children have known exactly what to do when the hive becomes too crowded. They wait for a perfect day to travel and find a new home that will accommodate their numbers.

A perfect day is typically sunny and warm, and when the bees make up their minds to leave (swarm) there is no stopping them.

When this happens, the queen and her children leave the hive. For a few minutes they will fly somewhere near the hive, but then they all leave and fly high into a tree or possibly to a roof top. The children will stay with their mother (the queen) and find a safe secure place to begin building a new hive.

So, while May is the month for celebrating Mother's Day all around the world, it seems fitting that it is also a month when bees throughout the country will swarm. Funny, nature has been celebrating motherhood long before humans ever did!

~ Page 2 ~

ABOUT THIS MONTH'S PHOTOGRAPHS & ILLUSTRATIONS:

(1) This photograph, "Apis mellifera flying," was taken by Muhammad Mahdi Karim, a Tanzanian student living in Bangalore, India. To see more close-ups of bees and other insects, visit his website at http://www.micro2macro.net/. (Note: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.)

(2) The source for this illustration is My First Picture Book, by Joseph Martin Kronheim, published in New York by George Routledge and Sons in 1875.

MORE, PLEASE . . . advanced investigations . . .

Some of the best close-up photos ever of the honeybee life cycle can be found at http://beediary.wordpress.com/, the blog address for "Border Bees Diary: Diary of a Beekeeper in the Scottish Borders." Four of "borderglider's" photographs and captions are included below: please visit!

1) "Young bees building new comb" (top left)

2) "The white eggs standing-up in the centre of these cells have been laid in the last 24 hours. By the second day they will flop-over and lie down in the cells and the larvae will then hatch and begin to grow." (top right)

3) "Sealed brood, bee larvae and eggs: Sealed or 'capped' brood in upper left; the pearly white grubs are unsealed brood which are about half-grown. On the ninth day of growth they will fill the cells and be sealed-in; after this they spin a cocoon and pupate into adult worker bees." (bottom left)

4) "Brood nest of the beehive: This is one frame of four or five which make up the brood nest . . " (bottom right)

The Glories of June – Swarming

Posted by borderglider on July 11, 2009:

"May and June are wonderful months for the beekeeper, when the colonies are expanding fast, queens are laying between 1 -3000 eggs a day and the colony is expanding rapidly. It is also the time when bees reproduce by swarming – the colony divides and the old queen leaves to found a new colony – taking about half of the hive’s bees with her. The swarming impulse is usally triggered by a large population increase within the hive."

From: http://beediary.wordpress.com/, "Border Bees Diary: Diary of a Beekeeper in the Scottish Borders."

G R A C I A S

2010-05-16T23:33:00.024-04:00

Burgh Bees Community Apiary Ribbon Cutting: Friday, May 14, 2010

Friday afternoon, under the tent on Susquehanna Street, was the most serendipitous, genial, gathering of 'good neighbors' you would ever hope to attend.

You should have been there.

We had Irish cheese and apple slices, brownies and homemade cookies, and iced-down sham-pon-yuh (Christopher Walken sent his apologies).

We had Councilman Patrick Dowd and daughter Evyn, Councilman Bill Peduto in finest form, Christy Berger representing Mayor Ravenstahl's office, Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak (to whom we owe a new pair of shoes), and both Mike Masiuk and Sandy Feather from the Penn State Cooperative Extension. We had Susquehanna Street neighbors, Burgh Bees Co-Founders, and Burgh Bees members and friends. And we had the real 'guests of honor' - a demonstration hive buzzing with some of the newest Susquehanna Street residents: brand new members of one of the apiary's six resident colonies of honeybees, transplanted to their new home from neighborhoods all around Pittsburgh. Braddock, Mt. Washington, Shadyside, Hazelwood: four neighborhoods representing the diversity of Pittsburgh all at home today in Homewood.

(For more on the actual 'hive move' and what that entailed see the blog entry for Saturday April 9th.)

"Bees Gone Wild"

Before the Apiary Ribbon-Cutting actually got underway we had an interesting visit, from beyond the busway fence, from two Port Authority employees out investigating bus driver complaints - about yellow jackets further down the line. En route they were stopped by another driver alerting them to the fact that there were a "bunch of bees" further along the busway that might need to be checked out as well. These two gentlemen, Jack Hodge and Timothy Eubanks, really knew their bees. Mr. Eubanks: " Bees are essential. They're essential to our crops. And now they're endangered - and they have been for, oh, at least five years now." We swapped conversation for brownies, and were given good advice on how to contact Port Authority Customer Service if we wanted to discuss having Burgh Bees members weed the busway strip in lieu of having PAT spray weed killer so close to the hives. Messrs. Eubanks and Hodge: G R A C I A S !

Short & Sweet

Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding moved in and around the Pittsburgh area briefly on Friday afternoon, and our guests kept their comments and kudos short, sweet, and to the point. Since a picture truly is worth a thousand words, we will do the same.
Our Apiary Ribbon Cutting Photo Gallery:

1) Behind the scenes at the Apiary Ribbon Cutting
2) Burgh Bees Co-Founder Meredith Meyer Grelli welcomes the apiary's guests
3) Pittsburgh City Councilman Bill Peduto holds forth
4) Pittsburgh City Councilman Patrick Dowd shares a story
5) Frank, Scott, and Joan share a laugh
6) Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak greets the group
7) Burgh Bees member Terri Howard takes the stage
8) Penn State Extension Director Mike Masiuk makes a point
9) Christy Berger, Community Outreach Coordinator for Mayor Ravenstahl's office
10) Burgh Bees members Ashley Brickman and Meredith Meyer Grelli unveil the demo hive
11) Burgh Bees members Ashley Brickman and Terri Howard cut the ribbon - photo 1
12) Burgh Bees members Ashley Brickman and Terri Howard cut the ribbon - photo 2
13) Good food, good neighbors, a good cause
14) Neighbor Alfie Newberry and Penn State Extension's Sandy Feather
15) Burgh Bees' indispensable catering duo, Ashley Brickman and Kimberly Musial
16) End of the day---what goes up, comes down
17) Our true colors - - - busway fence beautification by Lucia Aguirre and Christina Neumann
- - - click on photos for a full-screen view

Noted in passing . . .

- - - Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak was glad to see that many aspects of the apiary's development remained somewhat fluid, essentially a work-in-progress: "The process is the journey." Amen. Ms. Rudiak also mentioned revitalization efforts underway in neighboring Beechview that are most definitely worth a look-see: check out the PUB blog at http://cleanupbeechview.blogspot.com/.

§ From the website: "Pretty Up Beechview is an all-volunteer, community-based organization that is dedicated to the creation and maintenance of a clean, healthy, safe and prosperous neighborhood and the promotion of those qualities therein through community action, partnership and awareness."

- - - Sandy Feather, Commercial Horticulture Educator with Penn State Cooperative Extension, noted an upcoming FREE community screening of the film Food, Inc. at our nearby Homewood Branch of the Carnegie Public Library. This MUST-SEE film will be shown on Wednesday, June 9 at 5:30 PM, and will be followed by a panel discussion on the topic, “What we can do to improve the health of our neighborhoods.” For more information check out Penn State Extension's really cool new spinoff, "yumpittsburgh." Here's the scoop: " yumpittsburgh is part of a Penn State project which strives to strengthen the local food infrastructure in Western Pa by connecting the supply and demand sides of our foodshed. This site will highlight timely info for and about farmers, food, events and resources in our community." And here's the link for more info about the showing of Food, Inc.: http://yumpittsburgh.com/?p=573.

§ From the website: " Food, Inc., a feature-length documentary by director Robert Kenner, lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing a system controlled by international corporations that prioritize profit over the health and safety of consumers. Please visit http://www.foodincmovie.com/."

- - - Roberta Jones and her dad, Robert Eberhart - Burgh Bees members and graduates of the original 2009 beekeeper's class - were on hand to welcome guests and check out the results of the latest apiary workday. Roberta noted that the native and bee-friendly plants recommended by our new good friends at Sestili Nursery were looking especially healthy.

A final note on support

An event like this one represents the culmination of hours, months, and even years of planning, hard work, give-and-take, and belief - in a vision of community cooperation on a citywide scale and in the certainty that a seed will take root if sufficiently nourished. Burgh Bees would like to take a moment today to thank everyone who has given so generously to our cause: donations in kind, of time, support, cash, advice - and seeds! We are just $277 short of our Kickstarter Fundraising goal, with just 2 weeks left to go. We will reach that goal thanks to the generosity of each individual who has wished us well. June's "G R A C I A S" column will be "In Appreciation" of our community of support - our neighbors near and far. Thank you so much.

Westinghouse High School Rocks!

2010-05-11T23:51:00.009-04:00

Richard "Muzz" Myers and a group of hard-working spirited students from nearby Westinghouse High School came out in the steady rain on Tuesday and did the neighborhood proud. These teenagers spent several hours at the apiary, setting in shrubs and herbs, and planting a 160-foot (really!) stretch of land up against the busway fence with sunflowers, goldenrod, and black-eyed Susans. Also on hand to help out were Burgh Bees members Mona Abdel-Halim, Randall Hall, Mary Ellen Meyer, Meredith Meyer Grelli, Viv Shaffer, and Linda Rathburn. (And Randall, we owe you a growler for your heroic efforts with the shovel and pickaxe this month and last.) Westinghouse High School: you are the bees' knees! Check out the photos below -

- - - and here is a little bit of info on WHS for any readers unfamiliar with the school's proud history:

From : http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07050/763271-53.stm

Wall of Fame Extols Westinghouse High Grads
Monday, February 19, 2007
~ photo by Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette

Valeria Williams is the organizer and creator of the Westinghouse High School Wall of Fame, a photographic display of some of the great students and teachers who walked through the school.

By Ervin Dyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

There, sitting in front of a piano, is Billy Strayhorn, the jazz musician who recorded with Duke Ellington; there's Chuck Cooper, one of the first black NBA players, aiming for a basket; and Naomi Simms, one of the country's first black supermodels, as sharp as she wants to be.

They are among the nearly 100 photographs that line the main hallway of Westinghouse High School. All are members of the Westinghouse Wall of Fame, a collection of alumni who have gone on to bright lights, big dreams.

Before they made it, at one point, whether in bobby socks or sky-high afros, they walked the halls of the mystical, memorable, magical ol' Westinghouse High, a place they affectionately referred to as the 'House. When they left, they gained local, national or worldwide recognition in sports, politics, music, business, social justice and education, often breaking barriers as they went.

The Westinghouse stars have lined the hall since about 1991.

About five years later, alumni Valeria Williams, Tommy Tucker and John Brewer created the Westinghouse High School Commission of Recognition to find and honor the classmates they'd heard about growing up.

Ms. Williams, class of 1967, began her research in the 1990s, the height of gang activity in Pittsburgh, and was deeply concerned about the crime and negative images that daily touched students' lives.

So, she pored over yearbooks, going all the way back to 1913, determined to present the students with more positive images.

It's a wonderful idea, said then-Principal Lester Young. "Fill every wall in the place."

And, so she tried to.

Ms. Williams gathered a world of achievers.

She found jazz legends such as Erroll Garner, Ahmad Jamal and Dakota Staton. She found Tuskegee airmen. She found actors and singers and professional football players. She found millionaires and dedicated, sacrificing community workers.

The list of names stretches from 1918 to 1991. Some classes ruled -- the wall is full of students from '51 and '52.

She found fathers and sons, such as Bill Nunn Sr., a civil rights activist and first black football player at Westinghouse, and his son, Bill Nunn Jr., one of the first black football scouts.

She found husbands and wives, high school sweethearts such as Elaine Casey and Erroll B. Davis, who trail-blazed in education and business. She found brothers and sisters: the Sloan family had Bev, Doris, Joann and Linnwood, a national radio reporter, two community service stalwarts and an arts leader.

In their cheerleader uniforms, she found Esther Bush, head of the Pittsburgh Urban League, and Carolyn Bright Smith, the mother of actor Will Smith. The youngest on the wall are twins Keith and Karl Edmonds, nationally recognized gospel mimes. They graduated in 1991.

"I thought the kids needed to see something positive," she said. "Some of these folks started off even worse than these kids had it."

The folks on the wall, she said, survived poverty, broken homes and troubles at school but they made it.

"I thought if the kids knew that these people on the wall lived in the same community, in the same houses that they do, it could make a difference."

The wall offers a mirror into yesteryear.

It harks back to a sepia-toned innocence when students took their class photographs in their Sunday best.

Their backs are straight, their clothes are starched, their eyes are fixed on a dream. They are the beautiful children who breathed in the lessons that in a world of segregation they would have to work twice as hard to go half as a far.

The 'House was packed with pride. Built in 1917 to honor the industrial engineer George Westinghouse, the hulking stone building first opened its doors to the wealthy white students who once lived in Homewood.

At its height, there were more than 1,500 students in the school. Its football team, the Bulldogs, chomped its way to championship after championship. Before shifting economics transformed it into a mostly black school, it was a model of integration for the African Americans and Italians who went there.

Ms. Williams said her classmates grew up in a wonderful time with strong teachers and heady expectations.

By most accounts, the bloom has faded.

A favored principal has retired. Enrollment has fallen to about 600 students and state reports reveal that students lag behind their counterparts in reading and math. In 2003, 40 percent of its seniors did not graduate.

Though the school was threatened with closure a few years ago, the community has not given up on Westinghouse.

There are special programs in culinary arts, cosmetology, finance and math and science to reach out to students. And, if students ever feel down, all they need to do is look at the wall to understand that they, too, can beat the odds.

Each face that hangs there offers a profile in courage.

While not all the faces are household names, each tells a story about a community of individuals -- doctors, lawyers, social activists -- who did not give up.

The glamorous Ms. Simms once bought her clothes at the Goodwill. Now, she's an Oprah Legend recognized for breaking ground in modeling.

Helen Faison, the first black (interim) superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, often shares the story of how her Homewood neighbors collected bus fare for her to commute to the University of Pittsburgh after her family was hit hard by paying some of the estimated $100 in tuition each semester.

Perhaps most inspiring is the story of Hal Brown. He lived in an East Liberty home with a dirt floor and had to go to work at 13 to help his family.

At one point, he worked five jobs. He got his big break in radio when a WAMO employee heard his mellifluous voice and suggested he be a deejay. His radio show became one of the station's most popular and he used his platform to rail against drug pushers. He later went to television, where he was an advocate for minority hiring. He never forgot the 'House and came back often to encourage a generation of journalists who came after him.

Now 73 and living in Florida, he confessed he thinks Westinghouse students believe the faces on the wall had so much help.

"But we had less opportunity than they do," he said. "There were no riots in my day by someone trying to push open doors. There was no Martin Luther King."

What the students had then, he said, "was pride and the fact that we loved each other."

- - - And here are some 2010 candidates-in-the-making for that very same Westinghouse High School Wall of Fame!

- - - click on photo for full-screen view

From left to right: Sonnikqua McKamey, Muzz Meyers, Kiyona Banks, Tobias Bullock, Kandace Cooper, Kijev James, and in front - Valerie Broughton

NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ . . . by Viv Shaffer

2010-05-09T23:35:00.003-04:00

Sunday, May 2nd ~
Seen at the Bee Scene

Neighbors and beekeepers swarmed to the North Point Breeze home of Woody Shaffer-Carr and his parents for a “Bee Garden Party” to celebrate Burgh Bees’ new community garden and apiary, and to welcome the bees to the neighborhood.

- - - Woody takes the stage

After an appreciative toast to the bees from the new apiary, the host welcomed the human guests and let everyone know how pleased he is that all those present, including the bees, are his neighbors. He then introduced Burgh Bees director Meredith Grelli, who spoke about the importance of bees, pollinating, as they do, a full third of the foods in a typical human diet. Gardeners in the room especially appreciated her remarks about sustainable gardening, knowing that there is much that all of us can do to “give back” to the bees.

- - - Meredith introduces the Burgh Bees' mission

While most of the guests knew of the challenges facing the bees world wide, many were unaware that the number of beekeepers in Pennsylvania is declining as well. Burgh Bees was commended for training more than one hundred fifty new beekeepers, more than half of that number in this year alone. After Meredith introduced Burgh Bees beekeepers Jennie Wood, Steve Repasky, Joe Zgurzynski, Linda Rathburn, Jeff Irwin, and Anna Kim, the room was abuzz as guests took advantage of the chance to learn everything they had always wanted to know about bees, but didn’t know who to ask. Questions were raised about the power of honey to cure pollen allergies and the difference between a bee and a wasp, and conversations ranged from how to attract bees to your garden to how to keep them out of your walls.

Although Meredith noted in her remarks that “It’s not just about the honey,” that famously flavorful bee treat was the centerpiece of the refreshments of the day. Honey was provided by bees from Highland Park, New Brighton, Alaska, and also from undisclosed locations, and transported to the party by Meredith and Steve. Varieties included clover, buckwheat, goldenrod (from New Brighton), and fireweed (from Alaska,) served over apples, cheese and bread. Also delicious were the strawberry jam-dark chocolate vegan brownies, the strawberries and cream cheese dip, and the orange banana almond honey cake provided by generous guests.

Black Strap Stout, Fat Gary, Monkey Girl, and Witte beers from East End Brewing, another favorite neighborhood enterprise, were also on hand. Having discovered that Woody’s parents had already purchased all of the Meade in stock at the local state store, Linda Rathburn stepped up with a bottle of Irish Mist. Some neighbors from Meade Street preferred lemonade over the Meade, but did enjoy speculating as to whether or not the street might have been named for the beverage made of fermented honey and wine.

Undeterred by rain, some strolled into the garden to admire the profusion of dandelions on the lawn, praising the homeowners for maintaining such an attractive habitat and nectar source for spring bees. The future of beekeeping was evident as Joe’s children played in the sunroom, and the bees, no novelty to these beekeeping kids, provided fascinating entertainment for the less experienced adults.
- - - Burgh Bees' youngest beekeepers

The bees were the focus and highlight of the festivities, but created their own buzz in Steve’s observation hive. As one observer was heard to remark, “They never stop working, do they, not even at their own party!”

- - - The guests of honor

The gathering allowed neighbors to make new connections and, in some cases, to renew old friendships. As the guests prepared to buzz off, parting conversations centered on plans to meet at the bee garden for the apiary ribbon cutting on May 14, and the on site party coming up in June. We’ll be hoping to see you there!

- - - Viv Shaffer

POLLINATOR PERISCOPE . . . by Jeff Irwin

2010-05-02T21:30:00.008-04:00

May: Downward is Beeward

If there’s a trend from the last post a few weeks ago, it’s that the bees are moving vertically, from the established heights of the flowering trees, to the understory shrubs, and finally to the new season’s emerging growth and groundcovers. Downward is beeward.

You need water if you are to bloom and the rain in the last part of April helped out. We even got a full on gulley washer to cleanse the town of the excess pollen from the old school wind pollinated plants. There’s something to be said for not going along with the latest evolutionary fad, but the massive pollen bombing really highlights the compact economy of bee pollination. Bees may be the most direct path from anther to stigma – and that’s nothing to sneeze at.

The flowering spring trees have left the stage after a great first act and moved onto the more serious business of photosynthesis. While their collaboration with bees and other pollinators is finished for the year, we can still look forward to their second and third acts as they fruit and colorfully senesce. So thanks trees, we’ll catch up with you later.

Here’s what I’ve noticed in the past couple of weeks:

The yellow leaves of locust trees look great, but we need to be attentive to the details with these guys. Honey locusts, despite their name, don’t offer much to bees. The black locust is a much more interesting nectar source, but it typically doesn’t produce in consecutive seasons and last year was a banner year.

A few shrubs like the viburnums, azaleas and rhododendrons have begun to bloom, proving that the woody plants still have something to offer.

Closer to the ground, the dandelions and violets are still going strong in unmowed areas. In my yard, they’ve been joined by a white wildflower and a purple flowering groundcover. I’m not exactly sure what they are, but the bees are into them.

As a side note while we’re looking at the ground, look for young ants that still have their wings. These hymenopteran relatives of bees fly to new areas in order to establish a new colony and then lose the wings when they head underground. Feel free to roll out the welcome mat for your new neighbors in the garden.

Moving our gaze upwards slightly to the season’s new growth, we see a few edibles that are teasingly close to flowering. Chives have been in bud for a while and the raspberries are starting to think about flowers. Also, I’ve received great reports about flowering asparagus.

At the moment, overwintered kale is king, shooting seed stalks several feet into the air and showing off bright yellow flowers covered in bees. Who knew that this stodgy green, often beloved by CSA farmers for its hardiness and volume, occasionally bemoaned by CSA subscribers who can’t think of another way to use it, could make such a display?

It’s impressive, and worth investigating further. Kale is an insect pollinated biennial that will cross with other brassicas if they are within a certain range. Since bees display remarkable floral fidelity, only visiting the same kind of plant on a foray, how do these outbreeding crosses happen? In my ignorance, I’m going to blame flies. At any rate, long live kale!

It’s neat to see the bees on flowers at different elevations. Vertical diversity can be a pretty interesting element to our pollinator garden so let’s continue to watch for more examples as the season progresses.
- - - Jeff Irwin

Post your comments to Jeff - and observations on what's UP in your neck of the woods - directly below.
And watch for Jeff's column on the First Sunday of every month.

APRIL Kids' Page

2010-04-25T12:08:00.001-04:00

BEE'S EYE VIEW . . . by Mary Anne Watson

Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim - see (1) below

Bees have been around for millions of years. Cave paintings in Europe show people harvesting honey 8,000 years ago! Bees have an amazing ability to find the best flowers for their food, so no wonder they have been around for so long.

Bees see with eyes, just like humans see with eyes, but unlike humans, bees' eyes are compound. That means, inside each compound eye are hundreds of single six-sided eyes arranged next to each other, side by side. Each of these six-sided eyes has its own lens. Each of these lenses is looking in a different direction. Whatever the bee is looking at, each lens adds a piece to the whole image. Think about a puzzle. Initially, there are many pieces that make up the picture. Looking at the pieces, you might see a lot of different shapes and colors. When the pieces are all in place, all put together, you see one complete picture or image. The bee's compound eye works in the same way.

Bees can see shapes, but see colors differently than humans. Their vision is pretty sharp or clear for the distance of about three feet.

Photo: Ralph Grimm - see (2) below

Bees can also see ultraviolet light that the human eye cannot see. The ultraviolet light uncovers colors and patterns in flowers that attract the bee to its source of pollen and nectar. Ultraviolet light makes for content, happy bees because the pollen and nectar give the bees energy to do what they do best - make sweet honey!

So, the next time you see one bee, remember: there are a couple hundred eyes looking back at you! ~ Mary Anne Watson

~ Page 2 ~

ABOUT THIS MONTH'S PHOTOGRAPHS:

(1) This photograph, "Apis mellifera flying," was taken by Muhammad Mahdi Karim, a Tanzanian student living in Bangalore, India. To see more close-ups of bees and other insects, visit his website at http://www.micro2macro.net/. (Required Note: Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.)

(2) This photo, "Eye of a honeybee," is by Ralph Grimm of Jimboomba, Queensland, Australia, and won an Honorable Mention in the 2008 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition. All the entries use light microscopes to capture incredible images from the world of nature. You can read more about the competition and see a slide show of the winning photos for 2008 at the online site for Scientific American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bioscapes-contest-photos. And here's the link for the 2009 photos: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=illuminating-the-lilliputian-bioscapes-winners.

MORE, PLEASE . . . advanced investigations . . .

Check out scientist Andy Giger's webpage "B-EYE: See the world through the eyes of a Honey Bee" for some pretty amazing images: http://andygiger.com/science/beye/beyehome.html.

Below left and right:
Einstein how we see him . . . . and here he is from a bee's eye view - cool!

Do bees recognize human faces? Read the article from Science magazine: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2005/12/02-02.html.

Do bees see in color? The dandelion on the left is how we see the colors; the one on the right is how a bee sees the same dandelion.

"Ultraviolet light, invisible to us, uncovers colours and patterns which draw them to the source of pollen and nectar - all hidden to humans without special equipment. This secret colour world was discovered in the Fifties and scientists realised that these distinct patterns were designed to act as "landing strips" or arrows, guiding the insects to the right spot."

Apiary Workday 2

2010-04-24T23:25:00.013-04:00

What a difference a day makes.

A corps of hardworking, dedicated volunteers made all the difference today as the Burgh Bees Community Apiary was transformed from an overgrown vacant city lot into a recognizable pollinator-garden-in-progress. From this . . .

. . . to this.

. . . click on photos for a full-screen view

Meredith and the Apiary Committee organized Workday 2 around three goals: preparing the busway fence zone, planting trees and shrubs around the apiary fence, and constructing three wooden above-ground planter boxes.

The busway fence zone was probably the most challenging task. The ground rolls down in a gentle grassy slope from the fence, and digging up a five-foot-wide swath along 160 feet bordering the fence seemed like an easy task in the planning stage - just a tick off the checklist before planting and watering. But when we put the shovel to the ground during a preliminary visit and hit rock-hard dirt, then actual rocks, and in some places concrete just three inches down, it looked like a heavy-duty rototiller would be necessary. So Alex and Meredith brought in the heavy equipment a few days later - and we lost the turf war again. (Alex said that The Runaway Rototiller would have made a good addition to the Kickstarter fundraising video collection.) That left option 3: pickaxes. This is an activity that defines the phrase "back-breaking." And so the fact that in just five hours' time, the 160 by 5 foot strip of land up against the fence was broken by picks, turned over again with two rototillers, and covered with landscaping cloth - well, that defies belief. And all the debris, roots, and grass tussocks - some two feet in diameter - were raked out, bagged, and carted away to the dump. Amazing.

While the fence gang tackled the concrete planting zone, another group of volunteers, planting trees and shrubs around the apiary fence, found the digging here just about as difficult. But perseverance was the word Saturday and the photos say it best: take a look at what our volunteers accomplished in just a few hours:

Seeing is believing.

Our third goal for the Workday was to build, fill, and plant three rectangular wooden planter boxes at the intersection of the two loops of the proposed Infinity Path. Michael Madonia supervised building the planters, Anna Kim coordinated mixing the soil and setting up the seedlings (following Mel Bartholomew's models in All New Square Foot Gardening), and once again our terrific volunteers "made it so." Here's the photo-op:

A day like this is a blessing.

A day like today encourages reflection on the generous spirit resident in each of us, that natural willingness to help and cooperate and take from the day the satisfaction of having built something special together. It's an easy, intuitive leap to consider the source of today's fruitful labor: the society of bees - bees as emissaries from the ultimately unknowable world of nature, for whom we believe we act as caretakers.

Or is it the other way around? A humbling consideration.

Heartfelt gratitude goes out to all of our volunteers, to those who donated supplies, tools, seeds, and plants to the apiary, to our neighbors on Susquehanna Street, and to Burgh Bees' expanding base of financial supporters, advisors, and friends. We will follow up today's post with two more, one to map out the specific species and planting zones as they now exist in the pollinator garden, and another, at the end of our Kickstarter campaign in early June, to thank individually all of you who have contributed to making the Burgh Bees Community Apiary a success. Listed below are today's Workday Volunteers. If you don't see your name, please let me know that I've missed you and I'll add your name right away.
And to each of you: G R A C I A S !

Meredith Grelli
Mona Abdel-Halim
Alex Grelli
Michael Madonia
Alissa Burger
Mary Ellen Meyer
Mark Meyer
Anna Kim
Linda Rathburn
Joan Guerin
Missy Olah
Michael Madonia
Mary Anne Watson
Christina Joy Neumann
Tenley Schmida
Rob B.
Jonathan
Jaime Munoz
Joe Zgurzynski & Dad
Annabelle & Luca Zgurzynski
Kimberly Musial
Lydia Konecky
Alexander Flurie
Justin Parisi
Sara Parisi
Randall Hall
Susan Barclay
Daniel Hatfield
Duncan Hutty
Brianna Stauffer
Josh Kucharski
Christine Fleming
Roberta Jones
Steve Repasky

POLLINATOR PERISCOPE . . . by Jeff Irwin

2010-04-18T23:54:00.015-04:00

MARCH: A Great Invitation

Honeybees are excellent guides to the natural world. With a whiff of nectar or a taste of pollen, and a quick dance lesson, returning foragers relay precise directions to the waiting group of worker bees. They will find the food source with little difficulty. The success of the hive depends on this accurate communication.

Bees can also guide the rest of us. They're able to find pollen, nectar, and propolis even when it seems that nothing is in bloom. On a sunny, snow-covered day in February, chances are good that the bees are out and about, bringing in whatever the plants provide. It's remarkable, really, even for those of us in tune to the plants around us. But the bees and plants have been partners for far longer than we've been paying attention. There's much yet to learn.

So the next time you pass a tree or shrub, maybe a flower planting full of bees, consider the buzz an invitation: something wonderful is happening here, an experience open to all who place themselves under the influence of plant and pollinator. Won't you stop and look?

APRIL: Spring Gathering

What a spring! Perhaps we were due for some great weather after last year’s poor fall flow and the February snowmageddon. Whatever the cause, I’ll take it.

Here are some of the blooming plants that I’ve been keeping an eye on this spring:

Daffodils: The heralds of spring, all brass and circumstance standing in the late winter mud. Too bad they’re not very interesting to bees, as they’re often abundantly planted. Too many toxic alkaloids, perhaps, and not enough pollen.

Crocuses: Playing a quick game of peek-a-boo before taking their leave, the crocuses provide some pollen to bees. The crocuses around me are usually pretty sparse and only seem to be out in damp, cool weather, but I think that a mass planting could be attractive to bees if there’s a sunny day while they’re blooming.

Maples: Maple trees showed up on a lot of my pollinator research lists, so I was watching for bees in maples. Apparently I don’t know what exactly to look for as I didn’t see much happening. Now the seeds are fully formed and ready to whirl, so I’ll have to wait until next year’s buds to look again.

Bradford Pears: Not so delicately referred to as “tuna on a trunk” by Southern Living's garden blogger Steve Bender, (http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2009/03/bradford-pear-.html), this tree used to be a favorite of urban developers. Consequently, there are lots of mature Bradford Pears around the boulevards and business districts. I liked the effervescent white blooms, but is there any buzz in this tuna bubbly? In theory, all pear trees should be ok for bees, but the stink of these trees might be more attractive to flies.

Redbud: One of spring’s most striking colors and good for bees. We should all get to know the redbud a little better.

Apple, Crabapple: Lots of blooming crabapple trees around town right now, so head out and look for bees. The larger bumblebees, in particular, are neat to watch bobbing around the blossoms.

Dogwood: Slender and elegant, attractive to a wide range of pollinators. Still in bloom at the moment.

Hawthorn: There are a few hawthorn volunteers at the apiary site. It appears that they’ve already flowered.

Dandelions: A key plant for bees and beekeepers. By my account, the first dandelion showed its trusting face in late March with the full bloom coming shortly thereafter during the warm period in early April. They’re now starting to go to seed, if they haven’t already been mowed down.

Violets: Another great lawn wildflower. There’s a kind of white butterfly or moth that I like to watch flit about the violets.

Forget-me-nots: A good symbolic plant for your true love’s tussie-mussie, particularly if your true love is a bee. So find a field of forget-me-nots, drink tea, and spend afternoons measuring time in spoons. It’s that kind of plant.

Ok, what have I missed? Where are the bees in your garden and neighborhood?
- - - Jeff Irwin

Post your comments to Jeff - and observations on what's UP in your neck of the woods - directly below.
And watch for Jeff's column on the First Sunday of every month.

- - - a Victorian tussie-mussie

G R A C I A S . . . by Roberta Jones

2010-04-18T23:24:00.017-04:00

It has been a busy spring for Burgh Bees. We have successfully put together a Community Apiary video on the website http://www.kickstarter.com/ and have raised to date $2,115 of our $3,500 goal. I would like to thank Mary Grace Hensel, my friend and amateur videographer, for putting up with me all day and shooting video all over Pittsburgh. And thanks to Meredith Meyer Grelli for cutting and pasting the video to kickstarter.

Donations are also starting to come in from local organizations and Garden Clubs. Goose Creek Gardens donated many herbs to plant in the apiary's pollinator garden, and Allegheny County Garden Club donated $100, to name just two. We will publish the names of all our benefactors at the end of this first fundraising campaign. We appreciate everything you all are doing for the apiary and Burgh Bees. ~ Roberta Jones

Check out Roberta's video on kickstarter by clicking on the link below:
http://www.kickstarter.com/e/2X6we/projects/meyergrelli/a-community-apiary-in-pittsburgh

And here's the background on our fundraising project, also from the kickstarter site:

About us

Burgh Bees was established in 2008 with the simple mission of promoting bees and beekeeping in Pittsburgh. Since founding, we have trained 90 new beekeepers and established 4 demonstration apiaries throughout the city. Our long-time dream has been to establish the country's first community apiary, where city dwellers without yards can keep hives of their own and where we'll continue to teach classes. We're raising money for this apiary and an accompanying pollinator garden.

About this project

The world's pollinators, including honeybees, are dying at an alarming rate. And this not only has an effect on the flora and fauna in our environments, but also on our food supply. One of the best ways to counteract the effects of a dwindling honeybee population is to increase the number of beekeepers. In 2008, a group of backyard beekeepers established Burgh Bees to promote honey bees, beekeeping and the creative reuse of neglected urban land in Pittsburgh. Since our founding, the volunteers of Burgh Bees have:

• Established four demonstration apiaries in urban neighborhoods throughout the city in partnership with local urban farming organizations as well as the Pittsburgh Zoo;
• Trained 90 new beekeepers
• Initiated a monthly meet up for urban beekeepers to share their knowledge with each other and build a beekeeping community in the city; and
• Hosted dozens of open apiary visits and educational programs to Pittsburgh residents.

We are getting the word out about the challenges honeybees face, the benefits of honey bees in urban settings and the delights of local honey. Burgh Bees is also reclaiming abandoned urban lots and reactivating these areas with productive, positive energy and attention.

Over half of our class members live in dense urban neighborhoods, making it difficult for them to install “backyard beehives.” In response, Burgh Bees has worked with the City of Pittsburgh to secure a suitable lot for a community apiary and demonstration pollinator garden. At this site, those who have completed training will be able to place a hive of their own, under the auspices of Burgh Bees—utilizing our insurance, shared equipment, and knowledge.

We're raising funds for plants, signage, equipment, and first pollinator plants. The site will be developed using all volunteer labor from our committed community of pollinator enthusiasts!

Upcoming Events:

Thursday, April 22 . . . . . . . . . . Earth Day
Saturday, April 24 . . . . . . . Apiary Workday 2
Monday, April 26 . . . . . . . . . . . .BVABA Meeting
Tuesday, April 27 . . . . . . . . . . . Burgh Bees Beekeeper Meetup
Sunday, May 2 . . . . . . . . . . Apiary Neighborhood Honey Tasting
Sunday, May 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . National Wildflower Week
Friday, May 14 . . . . . . . . . . Apiary Ribbon Cutting with Mayor Ravenstahl - 3 PM
Saturday, June 5 . . . . . . . . . . . United Nations World Environment Day: Pittsburgh 2010 Host City
Sunday, June 13 . . . . . . . . .Apiary Warming Party
Monday, June 21 . . . . . . . . . . . .National Pollinator Week
Monday, June 28 . . . . . . . . . . . .BVABA Meeting

PHOTO PROGRESSION: JANUARY / FEBRUARY / MARCH / APRIL: MOVING DAY

JANUARY 31 2010

FEBRUARY 28 2010

MARCH 31 2010

APRIL 9 2010: MOVING DAY

NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ . . . by Frank Carr

2010-04-11T15:00:00.011-04:00

The Shiloh Peace Garden

Spring came to North Point Breeze as if driven by a bellows, igniting the cityscape with magnolia and daffodil and forsythia blossoms. The plum tree on the patio has left its annual squall of blossoms and the cherry tree is shimmering into the long evening. And on the busy corner of Thomas Boulevard and North Homewood Avenue another bellwether of spring has quietly stirred.

Amid the pastoral oasis of the quiet corner lot a single figure worked the soil with a planting stick. So the dog and I walked over and said hello. It was Jane, a new gardener with Grow Pittsburgh, getting the soil ready for the third summer of the Shiloh Peace Garden. “Onions,” she said, when I asked what was up. “And more leeks.” The first planting of leeks was already a long line of green fountains standing nearly a foot tall.

Shiloh Peace Garden is a collaboration between a benevolent neighbor who bought the property hoping to “keep it green,” and Grow Pittsburgh, an established organization which manages the Frick Greenhouse Project only a couple blocks up Homewood at Penn Avenue. For the past two summers the garden has produced organic vegetables like leeks and peppers and zucchini and herbs and garlic which are sold on site, one day a week. On other days the vegetables are available at the Frick Museum Shop.

In addition to the delicious, healthy food now available on the corner, the Shiloh Peace Garden has become a happy center of quiet activity for the neighborhood on a busy intersection. Even in winter the garden had visitors and, after two years it has become an old friend. We will continue to see (and taste!) what’s growing in the Shiloh Peace Garden all summer long, just for you! You can dig up more information on Grow Pittsburgh and the Shiloh Peace Garden at http://www.growpittsburgh.org/.

Shiloh Peace Garden: Welcome!

East End Brewing Company's Annual Keg Ride Slated for May 14th
Speaking of old friends, another East End Tradition is fast upon us, and this one will begin on the very edge of the new Apiary! I am speaking of course, of the Sixth Annual East End Brewing Company's Pedal Pale Ale Keg Ride. Each year Hops Wizard Scott Smith and his cohorts brew the summer’s supply of Pedal Pale Ale and release it to mark the “beer community’s” start to the cycling and outdoor season. Here’s the word (and a great photo) from the East End Brewing website (go to the "Good Beer News" link on the site's home page, click on the archive link, and check out the March/April Good Beer News): http://groups.google.com/group/eastendbrewing/browse_thread/thread/4a8606a3057a3c5b

"Dust off that bike and polish up your liver - or maybe it's the other
way around? Regardless, it's time to gear up for this year's Keg
Ride. If you're new around here, and don't know what I'm talking
about, for the last 5 years, we've been delivering the very first
kegs of our summer seasonal, PEDAL PALE ALE in a very special way...
by bicycle. And for everyone riding along, the first beer is on me!
Just like the "Reverse Keg Ride" we did in the fall, this one's a
Charity Event too - with 100% of every dollar raised going to two very
worthwhile local charities. Plus we've got a bunch of new stuff this
year too...

- On-line registration/contribution, so no more huge line on ride day!
(Watch for a "Late Breaking" message when this goes live)

- Everyone registering EARLY gets a chance to win an East End Brewing/
Big Hop Cycle Jersey! http://ow.ly/1t9Lk

- Everyone registering EARLY gets a chance to win a Pittsburgh Cycling
Jersey! http://ow.ly/1t9GI

- Want to pull a keg? We're auctioning off 3 keg pulling slots to the
highest bidders! (Auction goes live about 2 weeks before Ride Day -
I'll let you know.)

Read all about the Keg Ride, see the stats and some photos from
previous years, and (eventually) get yourself registered right here:
http://www.eastendbrewing.com/node/830 And by all means, please feel
free to pass this link on to every single person you know. It's going
to be a great day, so I'll see ALL OF YOU and your bikes on May 14th!"

Okay, that’s the recent buzz in North Point Breeze. I’m sure the bees will come to know the garden, and probably the brewery too! Spring, after all, is a time for discovery. ~ Frank Carr

2010-04-10T22:24:00.020-04:00

THE GREAT HIVE MIGRATION

Friday was an important day in the development of the apiary. The fence went up – and the bees moved in. Good neighbors Terri Howard and Ron McConnell came over to take a look, as did the building inspector. Ron and Terri’s advice: consider ways to make the fencing vandal-resistant. Building inspector’s instructions: get rid of the tires. Now that someone owns the formerly vacant lot, that someone is responsible for removing any trash dumped there. Meredith is checking into tire disposal and just how many we can dump at the dump.

- - - The new apiary fence . . . click on photos for a full-screen view

Robert Steffes and Steve Repasky did all the heavy lifting Friday. The hive from Mt. Washington was picked up and delivered first to the apiary around 10 AM. Then we took off to bring one of Robert’s hives to Mildred’s Daughters Urban Farm in Stanton Heights. Steve noted along the way all the houses from which he had ‘relocated’ raccoons, and squirrels, and bees (oh my) over the years. (Note to Steve: This might make an interesting Rick Sebak special: “Pittsburgh Critters That Ain’t There Anymore.”) Mildred’s Daughters Urban Farm is a good example of why Pittsburgh’s reputation as a city of unique neighborhoods is justly deserved. This 5-acre organic farm, one of the few remaining within the Pittsburgh city limits, is just 10 minutes from downtown, and has been deeded as a farm since 1875. Barb Kline and Randa Shannon "bought the farm" in 1999 from the DiCaprio family, farmers there since 1932. (Read Virginia Phillips' fascinating profile of Mildred's Daughters in the Post-Gazette's archive: http://www.post-gazette.com/food/20030814farmwoman0814fnp3.asp.) Barb and Randa helped found Grow Pittsburgh and are recognized leaders in the local sustainable agriculture community. They gave generously of their time and advice (and some seeds for the apiary) Friday, and showed us around the farm. Joan Guerin, a Burgh Bees steward and Apiary Committee member, will be managing the hive at its new location.

- - - Mildred's Daughters Urban Farm

Joan, Robert, and Steve set up the bees’ new home in a corner of the farm on a bluff overlooking the Allegheny River. The bees will have plenty of southern sun exposure, a bit of shade in the afternoon, (a great view), the company of three very cool dogs and, come May – peeps! Barb and Randa invited us back for a story on their soon-to-be-resident new flock of chickens, and an update on the bees, in early summer. Sincere thanks to Mildred’s Daughters for their hospitality, planting advice – and the bagful of fennel seeds!

Left: Robert passes the hive tool to Joan
Right: Best Buds

A quick stop at Meredith's to pick up her adopted hive and add it to the truck, and then . . .

- - - Meredith's hive

- - - On the road again – to the Ladora Way Urban Farm in Hazelwood. This community garden is in a transitional stage at the moment, waiting for new leadership from the neighbors and property owners. It’s a beautiful, hopeful corner of Hazelwood, tucked away on a side street near the Monongahela River. Over-wintered cabbage plants, strawberries and plantings of thyme were thriving. Robert and Steve loaded the two Burgh Bees hives onto the truck and we were off for Braddock. (For more information on Hazelwood history check out Adam Fleming's 2009 article in the City Paper's archive: http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A58473

- - - Ladora Way Urban Farm

- - - Cabbage patch

- - - Thyme

And on a side note: Big Jim’s Restaurant & Bar – “In the Run” – on Saline Street in Hazelwood, was the perfect place to stop for lunch on a Friday afternoon. Big Jim’s is one of those representative Pittsburgh neighborhood establishments that retain the easy charm and friendliness of a local favorite that’s been on the corner – and in the run – for generations. Try the ham and cabbage soup, the sausage hoagie, or the corned beef on Russian rye – and the french fries with beef gravy. Who invented that anyway? We weren’t sure. I thought it was a Pittsburgh original, along the lines of the Primanti sandwich. Steve thought it was a Canadian recipe. It turns out Steve was right (from http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2007-04-10/hirshon-poutine.html):

"Restaurateur Martin Beaudoin wanted to try something different with the
menu at Red Dot when it opened last year in Milwaukee. So the Quebec native
offered his customers a treat from back home: poutine, pronounced “poo-teen,” a
dish of French fries and cheese curds smothered in brown gravy . . . "

"Canadian legend traces poutine to Quebec restaurateur Fernand Lachance. In
1957, a trucker asked Lachance to mix French fries with some cheese curds he
spotted on a nearby counter. Lachance warned the mix would make a mess, or
“poutine” in French slang, but he took the order anyway. The trucker liked the
dish, so Lachance put it on the menu. Within a few months, poutine had become a
regional hit. Lachance added gravy to the recipe in 1964 to help melt the curds."

"Oddly enough, poutine did not spread much beyond Quebec until a few years
ago. Fans tie its emergence as a Canadian national dish to a historic American
event: President Bush’s first run for the White House in 2000. On the campaign
trail, a comedian posing as a journalist convinced Bush that the Canadian prime
minister’s name was Jean Poutine, and that he was endorsing Bush’s candidacy.
The prank aired on a popular Canadian sketch show and pushed poutine permanently
into the limelight."

If you like Primanti's you'll like Big Jim's. And you'll like Guy Fieri's website Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (http://www.foodnetwork.com/diners-drive-ins-and-dives/index.html), where I found Emeril's recipe for fries and gravy: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/poutine-fries-and-gravy-recipe/index.html. Yinz will love it.

We headed out to Braddock next, our last stop for the day. Lots of stuff has been written about, tossed about, and dissed out about Braddock recently, and Robert mentioned that Braddock’s mayor, John Fetterman, would be on the PBS program NOW that very evening. (You can still catch the program online at http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/615/index.html.) No question Braddock, the mayor, the closing of UPMC – n’at – makes for spirited conversation around Pittsburgh. Check out the links below, from the PBS site, for a sampling:

The town of Braddock's website:
http://www.15104.cc/
The New York Times: Braddock Journal—Rock Bottom for Decades, but Showing Signs of Life:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/us/01braddock.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1
The Pittsburgh Channel: UPMC Braddock Hospital Closure Stuns Struggling Community:
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/21313350/detail.html
The Pittsburgh Channel: Green collar jobs in Braddock:
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/19232432/detail.html

But we’re here to round up the Braddock bees, and the former Convent at St. Michaels, where the hives sit in a sunny corner of the back garden, protected from the wind by a high wall in winter, and surrounded by dense stands of knotweed and goldenrod in the summer, has one feature the other locations today did not: stairs. Here’s where the hive carrier really comes in handy. Looks like the tops of two aluminum chaise lounge chairs, whacked off in the middle and held together with a couple of bolts. (You could make a cool 60 bucks selling these gadgets online . . . ) But no, it’s really a “Hive Carrier” and did prove indispensable at Braddock.

Braddock was the last pickup in The Great Hive Migration, and now we’re taking the bees home to the apiary on Susquehanna Street. The six hives Robert and Steve set up today may be rearranged slightly in the days to come, but right now they are facing the south, the apiary back wall, and the busway fence. The fence will be planted with trumpet vine later this year – bees love trumpet vine – and on Saturday, April 24th, our second Apiary Workday, Burgh Bees members and volunteers will be out planting sunflowers, goldenrod, and black-eyed Susans along the busway fence, wildflowers in the meadow zone to the right of the apiary, and various shrubs and flowers around the newly installed apiary fence. If you’re not in ‘digging distance’ – or even if you are – send us your comments, questions, or photos of your own pollinator garden. We’ve started a list of links to the right of this page – send in your own recommended sites.

- - - Robert and Steve making use of the Hive Carrier

- - - Six hives in their new home

- - - Apiary Workday 2 planting zones

Finally, a great site to visit for all beekeepers, wannabees, and folks interested in pollinators and gardens is The Great Sunflower Project: http://www.greatsunflower.org/. We ordered some sunflower seeds from them for the apiary, and plan to participate in their ongoing project to monitor bees, sunflowers, and important pollinator issues. Join us!

POLLINATOR PERISCOPE: What's UP in the Apiary?

2010-04-04T16:42:00.012-04:00

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

POLLINATOR PERISCOPE: Photos from Northmoreland Park, Easter Weekend 2010

2010-04-04T16:41:00.004-04:00

. . . click on photos for a full-screen view ~

POLLINATOR PERISCOPE: More photos from Northmoreland Park, Easter Weekend 2010

2010-04-04T16:40:00.007-04:00

. . . click on photos for a full-screen view ~

Photos by Mike Kirven and Linda Rathburn

Apiary Workday 1

2010-03-22T13:34:00.011-04:00

- - - Christina Neumann's original architectural rendering of Burgh Bees Community Apiary

What a great way to celebrate the first day of Spring! Saturday was our first official Workday at the new Burgh Bees Community Apiary in Pittsburgh's Homewood/Point Breeze neighborhood. And it was a huge success. Working together from 9 AM until around noon - when our neighbor and corporate partner The East End Brewing Company opens for Growler Hours (strictly coincidentally) - fifteen Burgh Bees members and volunteers spent Saturday morning staking out the fencing that will eventually enclose the apiary's hives, plotting the Infinity Path that will lead visitors around the hives and each of the pollinator garden's designated plantings or "nodes," and picking up trash (including one mysteriously strangulated airborne gray squirrel). A colony of Mason bees, donated by member Christina Neumann, was also introduced to its new home on Saturday, in a sheltered corner of the apiary close to the busway fence.

Take a look at the photos below, send us your comments and questions - and please join us for our next official Workday at Burgh Bees Community Apiary:

When: Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 9 AM to 12 noon

Where: Burgh Bees CommunityApiary, 6945 Susquehanna Street, Homewood/Point Breeze, 15208

Who: Volunteers needed! Email us at burghbees@gmail.com for more detailed information and to let us know how you can help.

What: Here's the scoop from the Bulletin: "With the Mayor’s Green Team, we will be turning the vacant lot across from the East End Brewery into an apiary and demonstration pollinator garden that will serve as a hands-on classroom for beekeepers in training. We will be installing the basic infrastructure and first round of plantings in April . . . And we may just end up at the East End Brewing Company for Saturday Growler Hours afterwards."

Like to know more?
* Check out the Burgh Bees web site at http://www.burghbees.com/ for information about our parent organization.
* Join the conversation about all things bees on the Google Groups' site http://groups.google.com/group/burgh-bees?hl=en.
* Subscribe to the Burgh Bees Bulletin by sending a line to us at communication.bb@gmail.com.
* AND . . .

FOLLOW THIS BLOG . . . for the latest buzz on Pittsburgh's most unique, new, green and growing venture.

Below are the Workday photos from the new Burgh Bees Community Apiary at 6945 Susquehanna Street. Burgh Bees members and volunteers hard at work on Saturday included directors Meredith Meyer Grelli, Jennie Wood, Robert Steffes, Joe Zgurzynski, and Steve Repaskey. Apiary Committee members and volunteers giving a hand were Christina Joy Neumann, Jeff Irwin, Linda Rathburn, Anna Kim, Roberta Jones, Mike Madonia, Frank Carr, Woody Shaffer-Carr, and Annabelle and Luca Zgurzynski. Heartfelt thanks go out to all.

Workday 1 Photo Post 1

2010-03-22T13:22:00.006-04:00

Burgh Bees members and volunteers celebrated the first day of spring at the new Burgh Bees Community Apiary in Pittsburgh's Homewood/Point Breeze neighborhood. Pictured are: directors Jennie Wood, Meredith Meyer Grelli, Robert Steffes, and Steve Repaskey; Apiary Committee member Roberta Jones; and our volunteers Frank Carr, Woody Shaffer-Carr, and Annabelle and Luca Zgurzynski.

1) Jennie as bag lady :-)
2) Steve, Roberta, and Robert take a break
3) Our peerless leader, Meredith Meyer Grelli
4) Frank Carr and son Woody Shaffer Carr pitch in
5) Luca and Annabelle say cheese for the camera

Workday 1 Photo Post 2

2010-03-22T13:11:00.003-04:00

Our first official Workday at the Apiary was spent staking out the fencing that will eventually enclose the apiary's hives, plotting the Infinity Path that will lead visitors around the hives and each of the pollinator garden's designated plantings or "nodes," and picking up trash (including one mysteriously strangulated airborne gray squirrel). In the lineup: Anna Kim, Christina Neumann, Jeff Irwin, Meredith Meyer Grelli, Joe Zgurzynski, Jennie Wood, Robert Steffes, Luca Zgurzynski, and Mike Madonia.

6) Considering how grade and drainage will affect apiary placement
7) Anna, Christina, Jeff, and Meredith stake out the chosen location for apiary fencing
8) Found treasure: Anna, Joe, Jennie, Robert, and Luca make use of the onsite chip pile
9) Christina, Meredith, Robert, Luca, Anna, and Mike chip in to mark the Infinity Path
10) The Mystery of the Dead Squirrel

Workday 1 Photo Post 3

2010-03-22T13:04:00.002-04:00

A good day's work!

11) Apiary staked out for fencing, within one loop of the Infinity Path
12) Infinity path marked out with wood chips; proposed planter bench locations marked with tires
13) Jenny, Luca, and Annabelle at the water cooler

Workday 1 Photo Post 4

2010-03-22T12:44:00.003-04:00

Christina's Mason bees bee-ing introduced to their new home:

14) Mason bees ready to emerge from their cocoons
15) Newly emergent Mason bee
16) Mike prepares the Mason bees' new home

Like to know more about Mason bees? Check out the NC State University website page on raising Mason bees: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Other/note109/note109.html

- - - or watch any of the YouTube videos you'll find under "Mason bees." Here's a good one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He3Nuy1FSqY&feature=related