The big red barn is one of several beautifully restored buildings at Ambler Farm. It's a great place for kids and families.

The Back Yard Beekeepers Association (BYBA) is putting on a Honey Bee Jamboree at Ambler Farm in Wilton on Saturday, September 17, 2011 from 10 am to 3 pm. Guests will be given a passport with all the honey bee events listed on it and are encouraged to get their passport stamped as they visit each station.  Guests who visit all the stations get a prize! A suggested donation of $10 per family to Ambler Farm will help sustain their honey bee program. BYBA may charge a nominal fee for a couple of the stations to cover their expenses.

Honey Bee Jamboree activities led by BYBA master beekeepers include:

• Teaching Hive (Beekeeper’s equipment, photos of frames showing various things you might see inside a live hive, empty real equipment,veils, smokers, etc. to talk about and try on)
• Observation Hive w/ live bees “under glass”
• Honey Tasting (varietal honeys to taste and compare.  Held indoors  so as not to attract neighborhood bees in great numbers)
• Honey Extraction (also held indoors, same reason. Jars available for folks to bottle some to take home.)
• Bee’s Wax Candle Rolling
• Bee Toss (a bean bag game)
• Pollination Game (a flower-to-hive relay game)
• BYBA Farmers’ Market
• Bee Tent, Videos (screen-sided tent w/ nuc hives inside and beekeepers to “inspect” and show to spectators outside
• Honey Ice Cream Making
• Face Painting

You may also shop the Ambler Farm farm stand from 10:30-5 pm. Be sure to bring your own bags or boxes.

Ambler Farm is located at 257 Hurlbutt Street in Wilton, CT. There is ample parking at the farm, which is open to the community 365 days a year.

About the Back Yard Beekeepers Association:

The Back Yard Beekeepers Association (BYBA) has been educating the public about honey bees and beekeeping for fifteen plus years.  With over 300 members, our association has grown to become one of the nation’s largest regional clubs for beekeeping hobbyists. Some of our members are just getting started as beekeepers, and some have enjoyed this hobby for years. All share an interest in the wonderful and remarkable world of the honey bee. This regional club is dedicated to promoting beekeeping as a hobby, and spreading the good word about the remarkable honey bee.

The purpose of the BYBA is to provide its membership with interesting and practical information about the “how-to’s” of beekeeping. The club also provides the general public with educational programs about honey bees and the benefits of beekeeping in our communities. The BYBA is a not for profit, 501C-3 charitable organization.

There are 9 monthly meetings that begin at 7:30 pm on the last Tuesday of the month in January, February, March, April, May, June, September, October and November and are held at the Norfield Church Community Room, 64 Norfield Road, Weston, Connecticut. There is usually a meeting designed specifically for new beekeepers at 6:30 pm (prior to our regular meetings).  The Wannabees is a program offered for children.  These events are free and open to the public.

For more information visit the Back Yard Beekeepers Associations’ website, www.backyardbeekeepers.com.

This Saturday, July 24, 2010 is …

NATIVE & HONEYBEE DAY

At Audubon Greenwich

Enjoy an afternoon at Audubon Greenwich this Saturday when the local beekeepers harvest honey and the Audubon screens two ground-breaking films that investigate answers to what is causing the colony collapse disorder (CCD) in honeybee colonies. Below are all the details about the day’s  events. Note: RSVPs for the films are required b/c the space is limited!

Honey Harvesting: With the Backyard Beekeepers Association

11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Visitors are invited to stop by to see how the honey is taken out of the hive and bottled. Help “spin” the honey from the wax combs. Honey may also be available for purchase (while supplies last). All ages. No charge. No RSVP required. Downhill in the red barn. Sponsored and staffed by the Backyard Beekeepers Association.

Film Screenings: ‘Vanishing of the Bees’ & ‘Nicotine Bees’

4:00-7:00 pm

A double-feature of films dedicated to the native bees and honeybees we all depend on.

In 2005-2006, something happened and a sharp, catastrophic collapse of bee colonies in dozens of countries occurred simultaneously. This was unlike anything seen before, even by the oldest beekeepers in the U.S., Canada and Europe. And contrary to popular belief, the jury is not out on what happened. It seems that bees are now being bombarded by pesticides made of synthetic nicotine that is bonded with cyanide. This new material hit the market in 1995 and in 2005, when the patents expired, many companies around the globe released their versions of the same chemicals. Ever since, bees and other insects have been paying the price for this new class of poison. And since these systemic pesticides spread throughout the whole plant (pollen, nectar, leaf, etc.), there is no escape for honey bees or the hundreds of other native bee species that plant depend on for pollination. So, … Come learn what the world’s top beekeepers and scientists have discovered since CCD started and then you can decide for yourself what the causes of honeybee die-offs are.

Space is limited. Advance tickets required. RSVP to Jeff at 203-869-5272 x239. Just $15/person includes admission to both films and refreshments that will include ‘mead’ wine (made from honey) and bee-inspired snacks between movies.  PLUS – DVD copies of ‘Nicotine Bees’ will be available for purchase for just $15.

Vanishing of the Bees is a 2009 documentary film by Hive Mentality Films & Hipfuel Films, directed by George Langworthy and Maryam Henein. The film is touted as the most important film since An Inconvenient Truth and takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and spiritual implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee. The feature-length documentary narrated by Oscar nominated actress Ellen Page examines the current agricultural landscape and celebrates the ancient and sacred connection between man and honeybee.  The story centers around the sudden disappearance of honeybees from beehives around the world, caused by the poorly understood phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD. Although the film does not draw any firm scientific conclusions as to the precise cause or causes of CCD, it does suggest a link between the Neonicotinoid group of pesticides and CCD. NOTE: THIS WILL BE THE FIRST PUBLIC SCREENING OF THIS FILM IN THE U.S.A. PRESS CONTACT FOR THIS FILM: Maryam Henein at 323-640-9710.

Nicotine Bees is a 2010 documentary film by Kevin Hansen. The goal of the film is to get to the truth about why the honeybees of the world are in big trouble, and why our food supply is in trouble with them.  The answers are clear – and have been for several years. They filmed on 3 continents to find out the real reasons why bees are in catastrophic decline – and why many people don’t want the real story to be told. The answers have been right in front of us: the worldwide, simultaneous die-off’s of honeybees – with a strange set of behaviors seen everywhere. With the continuing bee collapse, one third of our food supply is at risk – yet despite the clear-cut scientific data, especially from Europe, in news reports this is issue is still called “mysterious.” The answers are clear-cut from evidence from Europe and the US, from observations of similar effects from Europe to Canada to India, and in dozens of states across the US. The film systematically rules out the other possible causes of this massive die-off to find the one underlying explanation that really works: all over the world, at the same time, with the same bizarre behaviors: bees simply leave their precious honey and young bees behind. They don’t come home and Nicotine Bees is ready to show what has happened. PRESS CONTACT FOR THIS FILM: Kevin Hansen: 505-818-7217.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FILMS AND THE ISSUES SURROUNDING NICOTINE-BASED PESTICIDES, VISIT:

www.nicotinebees.com & www.vanishingbees.com

FOR SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES ABOUT THE EFFECT OF NICOTINE-BASED PESTICIDES, VISIT:

http://pierreterre.com/page/critical-evidence

Audubon Greenwich

613 Riversville Road
Greenwich, CT 06831
Phone 203-869-5272
Fax 203-869-4437

Close your eyes and imagine the quintessential New England farm you’ve read about in books. Picture the rolling fields and stone walls adorned with a farm house, red barn, ice house, and white carriage house. Open your eyes and you’re at Ambler Farm, a gem of a 200-year-old working farm in Wilton where Farmer Ben grows organic produce that’s sold at the farm stand every Tuesday and Saturday from 10:30am to 5:00pm.

The Friends of Ambler Farm have made it the farm’s  mission to celebrate Wilton’s agrarian roots through active-learning programs, sustainable agriculture, responsible land stewardship, and historic preservation. Sign up for their e-newsletter so you can get crop and event announcements like this:  “Summer squash is here! We also have broccoli, scallions, arugula, herbs, lettuce, mesclun and mixed greens. Check out our produce schedule to find out when to expect your favorite veggies.”

What’s super fun and educational to do at the farm? Check out the bees. We visited on a weekend to watch the honey harvest and you could have heard a piece of hay drop. The kids and adults alike were enraptured as Kevin taught us about bee behavior, hive hierarchy, honey comb formation, honey production and harvesting and then finally let us taste the sweet, golden, honey straight from the comb. If you want a taste (sorry!) of the bee experience at Ambler Farm, take a few minutes to watch this video. (The noisy kids in the background are on the soccer field.) The farm is open 365 days a year and is not to be missed.

You know the local-food movement is forging ahead when two new farmers’ markets open within a few weeks of one another, in Fairfield County, through the efforts of everyday citizens and community organizations. Sally Gemmill and Stephanie Barksdale of the Wilton Library worked long and hard along with the Chamber of Commerce and town officials to bring this dream to fruition.  Convenient to all of Wilton Town Center, their location reminds me of the farmers’ market at the Brick Walk in Fairfield, also started this month.

The market will start small, with  about five vendors, beginning tomorrow from 1-4 pm in the back parking lot of the Wilton Library. Participating farms and vendors include Ambler Farm, a gem of a farm in Wilton I recently visited to learn about bees and harvesting honey. Their farm stand was open and we bought a giant bunch of garlic scapes and some  delicious arugula grown by Farmer Ben. You’ll also find Wilton’s own Wave Hill Breads, Michele’s Pies (oh yum!),  Schulze Family Farm and Killam & Bassette Farmstead at the market.  New vendors are expected to be added regularly.

Visit their site under Events for regular updates, but more importantly, visit the market for “locally grown fruits, vegetables, free range eggs, homemade jams, herbs, fresh cut flowers and fresh bread and pies. “