Chapter Meeting – January 10, 2023 – Ecologically Responsible Beekeeping with Native Plants

Join us at 2:00 pm on Tuesday January 10th at Riverside Nature Center for a presentation on “Ecologically Responsible Beekeeping with Native Plants”.  There will be a short business meeting at 1:30 pm followed by the presentation at 2:00 pm.  The public is always welcome to join us.

Ecological beekeeping is an interesting topic given European honey bees are not a native insect in North America. Most everyone loves honey and learning about the fascinating life of honey bees. Here, we’ll discuss some of the potential pitfalls of overstocking honey bees and the impact on native bees.

To mitigate the pitfalls, we’ll consider ecological management practices such as the reduction, (with the goal of elimination), of non-native plant species, encouraging existing or planting native plant resources, with attention paid to ensuring a prolonged bloom period.

Ecological beekeepers, as all beekeepers, will never go wrong is creating the most diverse array of floral resources possible. We’ll see that implementing ecological practices into your beekeeping is a win win for native pollinators and wildlife as well as for the health of your bees.

We’ll also explore how to find quality seed sources, the basics of seed collecting, recommended field guides, deceptive marketing practices by conglomerate nursery industry, or “green washing,” which can make purchasing correct plant and seed stock confusing.

Our presenter received her Masters in Native Rangeland Management and Ecological Restoration under acclaimed ecologist Dr. Fred Smeins, at Texas A&M University. She interned at Wildlife Habitat Federation (WHF) under Garry Stephens, and briefly served as their staff ecologist before going out on her own. Amy teaches ecologically sound beekeeping, gardening with native plants in Texas, and ecologically respectful seed collection, storage and planting. Her Texas property has been filmed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) for the last 2 years for a television teaser, and for a segment for their PBS TV show, showcasing the extensive pollinator habitat restoration.