TVBA In the News

Click on the link below to read an article written on the 2010 TVBA Mentoring Program

Article on Mentoring Program in the Chattanooga Magazine

Click on the link below to read an article on Celebrating Honeybee Awareness Day

Museum abuzz over honey

As Bob Gray lifted a frame out of the hive with hundreds of bees attached, the children behind the glass simultaneously uttered “whoa,” while several adults grimaced and gave thanks to the barrier between them and the flying insects.

“I’m not (scared of bees) now that I’ve seen them,” 6-year-old Caleb Kelley proclaimed.

“But you were glad to know that we were going to be on the inside and the bees were going to be on the outside, weren’t you?” his grandmother, Linda Kelley, asked.

Caleb agreed.

The Kelley family was one of many from the area that attended the Creative Discovery Museum’s 10th annual Honey Harvest on Sunday. The event featured demonstrations on how to make beeswax products, bee story time, honey taste testing, classes on how to extract honey and presentations showing the innards of people-made beehives.

One of the overall goals of local events like the Honey Harvest is to show the public that bees “are not something to be afraid of,” said Mr. Gray, a volunteer for the Tennessee Valley Beekeepers Association.

“You can have bees in your backyard,” he said. “They’re pretty gentle if you treat them gently and know the proper techniques.”

Beekeeping is becoming a rarity in the U.S., Mr. Gray said, noting problems with mites and diseases that are overtaking bee populations nationwide. These declines have hurt not only wax- and honey-related products, but also the many crops that are pollen-based, he added.

Mr. Gray said that though there are several bee hobbyists in the Chattanooga area, there are only two local beekeepers who make their livings from bee-related products.

“A lot of people just gave up,” Mr. Gray said.

Jason Groppel, who was demonstrating how to extract honey at Sunday’s event, said he and his fellow beekeepers in Clarksville, Tenn., have felt similar pains facing present-day beekeeping. He went into the winter with eight bee hives and came out with one, and one of his friends lost 300 hives in one year.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult every year to sustain the hives,” said Mr. Groppel, president of the Montgomery County Beekeeping Association.

But despite these struggles, TVBA volunteers are striving to keep a local bee economy churning . They offer eight-month mentoring programs on how to become a beekeeper, as well as shorter-term programs.

The TVBA is scheduled to have its monthly meeting tonight at 7 at the Hamilton County Extension Service Office off Bonny Oaks Drive. The monthly meetings are open to anyone having an interest in beekeeping.

“Most of us got into (beekeeping) because we enjoy bees and want to do our little part for pollination,” Mr. Gray said. “The honey is just an extra side benefit.”

Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press;

Date:Feb 13, 2010;

Section:Life;

Page Number:10

‘Bee’ educated in new beekeeping class

Tom Stebbins This Week in the Garden

    Honeybees pollinate almost 100 percent of the flowering plants that produce the food we eat. Among them are apples, asparagus, avocados, broccoli, blueberries, celery, cherries, citrus fruit, cranberries, cucumbers, soybeans, squash and strawberries.

    Beekeeping, now a $14 billion industry nationwide, has more people considering the addition of a couple of hives in their backyard.

    SOCIAL INSECTS

    A colony consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen. The queen lives for about two years and lays up to 2,500 eggs per day in summer. Worker bees are female and do all the harvesting of flower nectar to make honey.

    Honey bees communicate with one another by dancing. Male honey bees, called drones, do not work at all and have no stinger. Their only role is to mate with the queen. Any drones left at the end of the season are thrown out of the hive.

    Honey is a tasty treat with many uses. It was used to dress wounds and embalm bodies in ancient times. Mead, a wine made with honey, was one of the first fermented beverages. In fact, the word “honeymoon” may have come from the Irish tradition of newlyweds drinking mead wine everyday for one full moon (a month) after their weddings.

    THE LOCAL BUZZ

    The Tennessee Valley Beekeepers Association (TVBA), a colony of local beekeepers, wants to “sting” you with enthusiasm for beekeeping. Their mission is “to promote the study, science and craft of beekeeping and to provide education and encouragement to all Tennessee beekeepers.” They hold meetings at 7 p.m. the last Monday of each month at the Agriculture Center off Bonny Oaks Drive. Guest speakers include local, regional and state experts in beekeeping. Everyone is invited to attend these informative seminars.

    “BEE” EDUCATED

    TVBA is offering a free Basic Beekeeping Class 7-10 p.m. Thursday at the Homebuilders Association of Southern Tennessee building, 3221 Harrison Pike, off Highway 153 near the Amnicola exit.

    After this introductory session, more classes are scheduled for a nominal fee.

    An eight-month-long Mentoring Course runs from March to October and will include classroom instruction as well as hands-on field instruction in a beeyard. The $300 cost includes one eightframe hive with two medium supers, bees and basic beekeeping equipment such as a hive tool and smoker. A nonrefundable $100 deposit is due Thursday. Full payment is due Feb. 28.

    Experienced beekeepers will serve as mentors and instructors for the course. The value of this mentoring is priceless. There will be a limit of three classes or 30 students.

    A class will consist of 10 students and two mentors. During instruction, all hives will be in one location to enhance field instruction. At the end of the course, students will take their hives home. Participants will need to purchase personal protective equipment, such as a veil and gloves. TVBA will offer one partial scholarship per class based on economic need and level of interest.

    You can attend the basic beekeeping class then decide if you want to make the bigger commitment. You will still benefit greatly from attending the evening class.

    For more information, go to www.tvba.us. e-mail beemailus@gmail.com or rangergray@hotmail.com or call 423-886-3244.

    Contact Tom Stebbins at 423-855-6113 or tstebbins@utk.edu

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Bees are the buzz

By: Kathy Gilbert

ARTICLE TOOLS

Apiarists new and old buzzed around like bees at last month’s Tennessee Valley Beekeepers Association meeting.

“That was probably our high mark ever; it was a really good turnout,” said the association’s media director, Tyler Smith. So many people showed up — 35 to 40, Mr. Smith estimated — several remained standing.

Perhaps the motivation comes from economic struggle or environmental concerns, but local folks seem more interested than ever in gardening, farming and beekeeping.

Nine new community gardens are being supported by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department with community partners this year. Several restaurants, such as The Terminal BrewHouse downtown, have added green roofs with food crops.

Baylor School on the North Shore and Greenbriar Cove retirement community in Ooltewah will be growing some of their food this year.

Good gardens need excellent pollination, Mr. Smith said.

Besides European honeybees, bats, bumblebees, native bees and wasps will pollinate garden crops.

But gardeners historically danced with honeybees “because they are the only pollinators we can control. And they produce honey. It’s a win-win situation.”

Mr. Smith said interest is waxing due to the recent reorganization of the local beekeeping association, events such as the Honey Harvest at the Creative Discovery Museum last summer and the beginning beekeeping class offered next month.

“Now people have a channel to funnel their interest in beekeeping and become part of a bee community,” he added. “I think a lot of people are responding because the association is available and organized.”