Hiving the Bees

Hello all!

So we finally have been able to install our bees! Hiving the bees was an interesting process and one that I will never ever ever forget!



They came all the way from Hampton, CT and were driven down to Fairfield, CT on May 11th, 2012 by my bee mentor, Tess Brown. About 10,000 or so bees came in the box seen above. The bees surround a tin can of sugar syrup that has holes on them. That is what they feed off of during their trip.



The Queen comes in a separate compartment like the one shown above. There is a thing of sugar blocking the entrance. Over the course of a few days, the Queen will eat through this block of sugar. Spending time in this cell by herself allows the other worker bees, who aren't biologically related to her, get acquainted to her and the pheromones she puts out. The reason why the Queen isn't related to the other bees is because the two are bought separately. Breeding Queen bees is it's own process in the current beekeeping system (a controversial topic for some).



Once the package arrives to campus, we had to have all of our materials ready. Our site area was set. Notice we have cement blocks to lift the hive above ground so that bugs won't crawl in as easily, and the hive opening isn't covered by mud. The next step we took was to put in powdered sugar into the bee package. This would make them groom themselves and remove any dirt or mites that they may be carrying.



We then open the box and shake the bees into the hive. Their is chaos everywhere! Hundreds and hundreds of bees are flying everywhere, it was almost like being in some kind of 90's SciFi killer bee movie! At this point, it is important to be calm to avoid any unnecessary agitation from the bees. However, I got stung somewhere somehow and something was still crawling up my leg so being calm was very hard to do. I had to walk away from the scene a few meters away and get over the pain and mysterious crawling up my leg!

The next few things were foggy. I do remember for sure that we placed in a sugar syrup feeder illustrated above. We didn't have an actual feeder in yet from Mann Lake so we fashioned one from a half-gallon tub. We punctured holes on the container and placed it upside down on top of the frames.

Finally, calmly but swiftly, we covered the box with its roof. We packed up our tools, and left. For future inspections, I need to remember to be very prepared since there was obviously an opening somewhere in my suit. Make swift aggressive movements only makes things worse. I feel that once I get more comfortable, inspections should be easy and painless. Hopefully that time will come sooner rather than later.

~ jesusnunezx

Lunch in the Garden - 6/18/2012

Hello all!

So I made this cool poster for our garden lunches. I used male and female bathroom signs to make it. Of course, if you don't identify with either icon, then you're also welcome to come as well!

Below are pictures from our last garden lunch. We had people from several departments come by including Residence Life, the Quick Center, Center for Faith and Public Life, and other places! Hurrah! 

I'm hoping more people will come next time around. I like meeting total strangers. And it was funny to see that pretty much everybody who came didn't know each other even though they work the same company (Fairfield University). So great how our garden, through food, can bring so many people together!

~ jesusnunezx

Brief History to our Mini Apiary

Hello all!

So I never really talked about the bees we now have on campus and decided to devote a half hour or so to write about them.

First of all, how it all started: I had heard that there was some interest in bees all throughout last summer. I had a list of crazy projects I wanted to make and bees (along with chickens...) were at the top!

To my surprise, in the Fall, alumna Tess Brown, a staff member from Advancement, was going to have a honey bee info session on November 21st, 2011. Psyched, I quickly signed up and gladly attended the meeting. In the info session, a few other students and I learned from Tess, an experienced beekeeper herself, some basic things about bees such as their biology, why they're important, and what to expect from their arrival. Furthermore, we also began attending meetings at our local beekeeper club to get in touch with other beekeepers and learn from them what we're getting into.

Eventually, the info sessions became meetings discussing how exactly we would fund the apiary.On April 18th, 2012 we hosted a bee awareness campaign in the Cafeteria. Through the help of Sodexo, we were able to make it known to campus that the bees were coming (we were very confident we would run into the money somehow!). This was an essential step for us because according to my book, "The Backyard Beekeeper" it's pretty important to warn your neighbors about the 40,000 or so insects you'll be housing in their vicinity. Furthermore, it gave us a chance to recruit fellow beekeepers and show off everything I had learned to my peers.

On April 19th, 2012, donations were made by several individuals during an environmental luncheon held in the Oak Room for faculty and staff. By the end of that event, we had raised about 90 dollars. Unfortunately, we were short about 400 dollars. By the end of the day, however, I received a surprise call from garden co-director (my boss) Jen Klug saying the Biology Department would pay for the remaining fees. Hurrahs were said all over! Furthermore, through a different grant I received from the school (specifically, from Dr. E. Gerald Corrigan), we were also able to pay for the bees and the queen bee itself. More hurrahs!

At some point, we received all of the materials. On May 10th, 2012 I painted our hive and on May 11th, we hived the bees at last. I will write a post soon on what that was like!

This has been without a doubt a marvelous experience to work with these bees. All of the work that went into bringing them onto campus not only makes our school look better and unique (who's ever heard of a small Jesuit school like ours own bees???) but it will further educate students on this important specimen. I'm sure most people have heard that bees are on the decline, but not many know why! The reasons, while a mystery even in the science community, is speculated to be caused by human interaction (i.e. pesticide use, monoculture, globalization, etc). This fact makes it a perfect addition to our garden because we already employ sustainable methods to approach agriculture. Teaching students about how we do things and why we do it will make all parties happy.

Plus free honey! (If they live past the first year....)

~ jesusnunezx

BI74 - Biology of Food Experiment by Chelsea Mingrone'14

During the spring semester, Dr. Tod Osier, one of the two advisers for the Fairfield University Garden, teaches the course ‘Biology of Food’. This course is a biology elective that many students are able to take to fulfill their science core. A part of the class is a component that included utilization of the garden to observe plant growth. In early March, the students planted seeds in the laboratories to grow the ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ lettuce. The picture below is the growth of the Black Seeded Simpson today.

Dr. Osier explained "we were growing lettuce in that case just as an experience for the students to plant and observe the growth of a plant (and lettuces are one of the only things that grow well at that time year)". He went on to say that he grew them under the covers to serve as mini-greenhouses to help the soil warm and let the lettuces grow. Trish Doheny, a sophomore majoring in Communitcation, took part in the experiment and used this lettuce for her cooking show called “Nutrishus" featured on the HAM channel.

Fairfield University’s Garden excels at being the perfect outdoor laboratory. While appreciating the beauty of nature, students are guaranteed hands on learning that cannot be achieved in a classroom.

Written by Chelsea Mingrone'14

We're Back!

Hello Friends!

We are finally back for another Summer of agricultural fun! We have done a number of things since I stopped writing, so let's get this going:

First of all, we recently had a really cool honey bee event in the Cafeteria. We informed people on the incoming bees on campus. Thanks to numerous faculty and staff support, this project will actually be happening pretty soon! I will write in a future posts about their arrival and how they're doing. But we have to be patient!

We've had a number of work parties. They consisted of mowing, weeding, and pruning our plants. Thanks to Trish Doheny'14, Julian Myer-Smith'15, and Chelsea Mingrone'14 for helping us out in the last few work parties of the semester. We got a lot done!

Trish doing her thing!

Julian doing what I strongly dislike the most: Mowing

Thanks to garden co-director Dr. Tod Osier (my boss), we have new shelves for the shed! When I saw how neat and (somewhat) organized the shed was I burst into frantic tears of joy. Here is a graphic representation of this event below.

That's it. I'll probably be posting stuff from earlier in the year since a) I never did and b) It's going to be a rainy week.

~ jesusnunezx