Local bee enthusiasts can get up close and personal with these insects at the first annual Athens Area Honey Bee Festival this weekend.
You may know the University of Georgia Extension for the work it does with large animals like cows and horses, but for many years it has also been focusing on a smaller creature—the honey bee.
Dr. Laura Ney is the Athens Clarke County Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent with UGA’s Extension and is directing the family-friendly Athens Area Honey Bee Festival taking place on Saturday. She says the highlight of the event will allow participants to see bees up close.
“We’re going to have hive explorations. We’ll have lots of full bee outfits and we’ll have some experienced beekeepers that can lead people into our actual demonstration hives and pull out the frames and talk about lives of honeybees and how they work and their colonies,” she says.
Ney adds that a love of bees is not necessary.
“One of the biggest goals of the festival is having a space for people to be able to come and meet bees and explore the idea of honeybees and other bees. We’ll have observation hives as well. In my mind this is exactly for people that might be a little bit nervous about bees,” she says.
She says it’s important for even the bee-frightened to learn what these insects do for the ecosystem.
Dan Long is the head of the Eastern Piedmont Beekeepers’ Association, a cosponsor of this weekend’s event. He says bees face a number of challenges in our region:
“It is dramatically different keeping bees than it was 30 years ago. There is a persistent pest and disease pressure on honeybees in addition to some places around here, lack of forage, and in some cases pesticide pressures as well.”
Still, this weekend’s festival is focused on creating positive experiences with bees and their beloved product—honey.
To learn more about Athens Area Honey Bee Festival, visit the UGA Extension website.
