All Natural No-Treatment Beekeeping Class at the Ecology Center

...r and enjoy a healthy garden full of pollinators. Understand the basics of bees, all natural beekeeping methods, tools, materials, and techniques to get you started. It’s said that beekeeping, or apiculture, began with the Egyptians whom used logs, boxes, and pottery vessels to make their own bee hives. Today, the practice of beekeeping lives on. Help save a dying species, encourage pollination in your garden, and enjoy raw, organic honey! In this...

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Natural Beekeeping Conference this Saturday and Sunday

...other incendiary topics that Susan tirelessly pursued for the sake of the bees she loved so much. I’m humbled to be a part of a roster that includes all of the knowledgeable voices in the natural beekeeping world: • Michael Bush • Les Crowder • Dr. May Berenbaum • Sam Comfort • Michael Thiele • Laura Bee Ferguson • Rob Keller • Sarah Red-Laird • Solomon Parker • Jacqueline Freeman • Noah Wilson Rich • Matt Reed • Amanda Shaw • Paul Cronshaw • Ari...

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Saturday Tweets: Artichokes, Rants and Rare Bee Art

...ple (@rootsimple) July 24, 2015 Another great podcast from @GardenForkTV: #bees #weightloss and #BBQ: http://t.co/d2Exgap3op — Root Simple (@rootsimple) July 24, 2015 Support #Westwood bike lane #completestreets #greatstreetsLA @lacbc call or email Councilman #PaulKoretz 213.473.7005 [email protected] — Joel Epstein (@thejoelepstein) July 23, 2015 Pictures: Rare Bees Make Flower-Mud "Sandwiches" http://t.co/5LFMWUa3eY via @NatGeo — Root Simpl...

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Of paper wasps and scrub jays

...ic, especially if they’re yellow and black striped. After years of keeping bees, we’ve come to learn that many people can’t distinguish a honey bee from a yellow jacket from a wasp–and we won’t even start on the native bees. Yet it pays to be able to do so, because each is quite different, and we can interact peaceably with all of them if we know their ways. Paper wasps, also called umbrella wasps, are those guys who build smallish, open celled ne...

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Mulch, mulch, mulch!

...ention that it is a good idea to leave some soil bare in a yard for native bees and other insects. Some native bees harvest dirt and mud for their nests, others nest in the ground and need access to the soil. I’m going to do a whole post on native bee habitat later in this series, so you’ll be hearing more about this. In the meantime, just keep in mind the idea of leaving the odd corner or bit of slope un-mulched.) Mulching vegetables: Mulch in th...

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