Projects
Ames High Bee Club has worked very hard to create a sustainable environment for bees. Back in 2017 we put up over 80 pollinator hotels. These are scattered all across central Iowa in parks and prairies. This year, we will be replacing or cleaning out these hotels.
In addition to cleaning and replacing the smaller hotels, we will be building two large scales hotels modeled after the pictures shown on the right. One will be placed adjacent to the Ames High Prairie and the second will be placed in the Iowa Arboretum. Thank you to the the Ames High Academic and Arts Booster Club for providing us with $500 to offset the costs of this project.
Pollinator Hotels
A year and a half ago, we installed our own hives with the help of Jamie Beyer, our beekeeping advisor. Since then, over 30 club members have learned how to go through the hives, check frames for brood and growth, and harvest viable honey frames. In August we extracted honey using a three-frame hand-crank extractor. After an entire day of work, we were able to extract over 200 pounds of honey. In October, we treated our hives for mites and after only a week of feeding, we prepared them for winter. Following winter, we will be taking small groups of freshman through the hives.
Beehives
Pollinator Gardens
Another project for our club is planting a pollinator garden at the middle school. We pick various wild plants that stimulate pollination, specifically for bees and butterflies. This year, we are hoping to secure at least one other location to plant and maintain. We will be working with the biology classes to create and maintain a large scale pollinator habitat. Thank you to the Sand County Foundation for $1000 in addition to 640 seedlings to make this project come to life.
Seed Sample
We have given out free samples of pollinator-friendly plants such as Spotted Joe-Pye, Butterfly Weed, Anise Hyssop, Milkweed, and Purple Coneflower. These are great plants that can be found at stores or bought online. Make sure to plant pollinator-friendly plants in your gardens this spring.
Events
Science nights are a great way to educate young minds on the fascinating topic of bees. These take place at Elementary School Science Nights. Students and parents show up to participate in games and crafts to deeper their understanding of bees.
Science Nights
In preparation for getting our hives, members of Ames High Bee Club attended six beekeeping classes. These were donated to us by Andy Jospeh, the instructor for this class. This class focused on honey bees, hives, care, swarming, extraction, disease, and maintenance.