Apiaries

An apiary, also known as a "bee yard", is a location where beehives of honeybees are kept. The base of the word comes from the Latin word "apis" meaning "bee", leading to "apiarium" or "beehouse" and eventually "apiary."

We chose to develop our apiaries to fortify the pollination of our crops and plants throughout the gardens, and also to use some of the generated excess honey in our recipes, of course! As of November 2023, we currently have three beehives in our Tree Nursery Apiary, as well as one Observation Hive, encased in glass for educational use with students, in our Bee Shed Apiary. 

We have seen marked increases in the produce yields on years where our beehives are full and healthy. After all, 75% of the crops we eat need to be pollinated by an animal or insect to develop fruit, and honeybees are one of the most efficient pollinators out there! There are many benefits to keeping bees, as many people throughout history had discovered before us. 

Robyn Jacobchick and Keith Weiland open one of the honeybee hives located in the Tree Nursery Apiary to check on the health of the hive.

 

There are records and evidence that honeybees have been kept by people all over the globe for thousands of years for honey and pollination purposes. There have been apiaries discovered in ancient Egypt, with hives made of molded mud that date back to before 2422 BCE. Honey was even discovered in clay pots within the pharaoh Kink Tut's tomb - and it was still edible!