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Bee Prepared - Troop 1776 keeping 15,000 bees


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Hillsborough, NJ

Boy Scouts from Troop 1776 who will soon become bee caretakers once the Queen Bee and her colony are settled into their hive. Members of the Hillsborough (NJ)  Rotary built the park compound where the hives will be located and protected by an eight-foot fence.

 

Scouts are busy working with the Rotary to refurbish and paint the compound's utility building and the slats that form the hive framework. Eventually, the hives are expected to produce sufficient honey to cover yearly costs.

 

More at link.
https://www.tapinto.net/categories/news/articles/hillsborough-rotary-turns-over-bee-hive-project-t

 

Arrggh, I have no idea how this ended up in Issues & Politics.

Edited by RememberSchiff
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Honey will, believe it or not, come in flavors , depending on the source of the nectar/pollen the bees gather.  Barley is a VERY strong flavor.  Ask about the choices, if you can, if you find a local source for honey, outside of the big grocery stores!  Clover, apple,  pear,  wild flower,  poplar,  orange blossom (that's osage orange), among others.

 

Used to be a "Bee Keeping " MB .   I am told by one who should know, that this was discontinued because  (1)  Not too many given out and  (2)  Irving did not want to consider  legal issues from Scouts getting stung and (3) That is why no hives at several  Scout Camps/reservations, despite possible apiarists on staff. 

 

 

Wait for it.....

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Honey will, believe it or not, come in flavors , depending on the source of the nectar/pollen the bees gather.  Barley is a VERY strong flavor.  Ask about the choices, if you can, if you find a local source for honey, outside of the big grocery stores!  Clover, apple,  pear,  wild flower,  poplar,  orange blossom (that's osage orange), among others.

 

There's a wild life refuge (mostly birds) north along the Red River. Every spring the wild flowers that used to grow on the black prairie grow there. The local bee keepers benefit from this greatly. The spring honey is some of the sweetest! In the summer lavender takes over. Lavender honey is pretty nice too. One part of the hive was producing a blueish honey. Turns out the bees brought back some candy they found (Jolly Ranchers as I recall) and the color was infused with the honey as it was processed by the bees.

 

Amazing creatures.

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There's a wild life refuge (mostly birds) north along the Red River. Every spring the wild flowers that used to grow on the black prairie grow there. The local bee keepers benefit from this greatly. The spring honey is some of the sweetest! In the summer lavender takes over. Lavender honey is pretty nice too. One part of the hive was producing a blueish honey. Turns out the bees brought back some candy they found (Jolly Ranchers as I recall) and the color was infused with the honey as it was processed by the bees.

 

Amazing creatures.

 

Who'da thunk!  A bee with a sweet tooth!  :)

Edited by Stosh
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Used to be a "Bee Keeping " MB .   I am told by one who should know, that this was discontinued because  (1)  Not too many given out and  (2)  Irving did not want to consider  legal issues from Scouts getting stung and (3) That is why no hives at several  Scout Camps/reservations, despite possible apiarists on staff. 

 

There is an option for a bee keeping (or at least the skill there of) component in the Gardening Merit Badge

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Another great project for Scouts to be involved in...and good PR.  Declining bee populations is a real problem.  The general public will understand the relevance; modern day equivalent of helping a little old lady cross the street.  Personally I'd like to see even more focus on ecology/conservation in Scouting.

 

I used to help my dad with his bees.  Once you have a simple understanding of how the hive functions, it's interesting (and relaxing) to just sit and watch the bees come and go at the entrance. 

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