Monday, January 31, 2005
AN OBSERVATION HIVE ATTRACTS THE STRANGEST PEOPLE!
An observation hive is essentially a box with windows in which we place several frames so that we can see what is going on in the hive. Sometimes they are temporary and made up only for a show or event. Others are set up permanently so that visitors can see the progress of the bees. Permanent observation hives can be about ten feet high and hold eight to ten frames of bees.
This observation hive was set up at the Cancer Society Relay For Life which is held each June at CFB Petawawa in Ontario, Canada. The Relay for Life sees teams of about ten people conducting a relay around the sports track from 7 PM to 7 AM. The team must have someone on the track at all times. The relay has been very successful and has raised over $1M over the past five years.
Our Beekeeping Association has had a team in the last two relays. We do it to support a great cause and to get exposure for our Beekeeping Association. We managed to get a lot of attention with our observation hive as folks are fascinated with beekeeping and the hive allows them to see workers, drones and if they are lucky, the queen. As part of the Relay we also give a great briefing on beekeeping at 3 AM. We had sixty folks at our beekeeping briefing and while there were a few folks nodding off, most enjoyed themselves and found it very educational.
# posted by Ed Gagnon : 4:31 PM
