Bees and Hops

By: Kajsa Sabatke, Manager of Public Programs

Last week I watched a screening of Vanishing of the Bees hosted by The Farmers’ Museum and Otsego 2000 as part of our Food and Farm Film Series. The documentary explores Colony Collapse Disorder and the effort to discover why entire hives honeybees are vanishing. (If you’d like to learn more about CCD and Vanishing of the Bees, check out their website: www.vanishingbees.com.) The film series has been one of my favorite programs this year, because it has brought together new and experienced farmers, gardeners, and beekeepers, as well as people who want to know more about their food and how they can support local and sustainable agriculture.

If you’d like to learn more about farming and gardening, you can join us for our new Saturday workday programs at the museum. Once each month from April through September, you can learn about a component of our farm and gardens and then help our farmers with a project at the Lippitt Farmstead or one of our historic village’s gardens.

This Saturday, April 30, from 9am-1pm, you can join us as we install hop poles and prepare the hop field for the season. The farmers will begin with a 45-minute talk on growing hops, followed by a work session and time for questions. Pre-registration for these programs is not required, but you must be 18 years or older. Please come in work clothes and meet up at the museum’s entrance outside the Main Barn at 9am. If you’re not able to make the first workday of the season but would like to receive emails related to the workdays, please email stayconnected@nysha.org.

Hope to see you on Saturday!