LEWIS COUNTY BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION                                                          

KIDS CAN BE BEEKEEPERS, TOO! 

See Photos:  Left column, visitors at the Fair; right column, LCBA Kids Working with Bees!

LCBA brought our Observation Hive for our first time exhibiting at Lewis County's Spring Youth Fair, May 3-4, 2014.  We were swarmed by kids of all ages! 

Many thanks to our 15 volunteers for helping get kids excited about bees.  Thanks, too, to the National Honey Board for sending us free brochures to give to families - booklets for kids to cook with honey, recipe cards, the story behind honey, & more.

Above, LCBA President Norm Switzler shows the observation hive to a boy & his mom visiting LCBA's exhibit; below, LCBA Youth Scholarship student Joevanie Montalvo helps visitors find the queen:

Above, sharp-eyed Sierra spotted the queen; below, can you find her?

Above, visiting family enjoys the observation hive; below, LCBA member Amie & visitors watch the queen laying eggs....

Above, LCBA Vice President Dave Gaston & wife Kaye explain hive components to a grown-up visitor; below, member Gottfried Fritz gives a visitor a taste of comb honey:

Above, Youth Scholarship student Mason Gaul (upper right) helping out at the observation hive; below, member Gordon & President Norm pointing out features of the observation hive bees:

Above, member Linda Newton with visitors; below, Linda's daughter Terrie showing a visitor how to find the queen....

Below, part of Jen Reiman's first prize winning exhibit on what's going on with honey bees.  Jennifer took LCBA's Spring apprenticeship course and earned her WSBA apprentice certification with flying colors:

Above, Michaela holds up her hand to feel the heat bees generate inside the observation hive; below, Michaela with mom Terrie, grandmother Linda, & President Norm:  three generations of beekeepers!

Above, observation hive is swarmed; below, member & new LCBA Apprentice class graduate Trevor plays guitar accompaniment on Saturday morning, giving us a great atmosphere:

Above, Michaela, our Queen Bee, donned her costume & shared her love of bees with lots of kids visiting our booth ~ & gave out our GloryBee honey stix ;)

Above, Dahlia working her bees - notice that she's confident & skilled enough to work them without gloves; below, Dahlia at a colony removal (photos by Gordon Bellevue):

Above, LCBA Youth Scholarship student Joevanie Montalvo, Toledo High School, preparing to install his first package bees; below, Joevanie looking pretty happy after successful installation:

Above, LCBA Youth Scholarship student Mason Gaul removing a swarm of bees from an outbuilding at Toledo High School:  the bees had recruited into a wall that had previously had a colony of bees living in it, as the comb attested.  Helping him is LCBA Mentor & "Bee Team" leader Rob Jenkins; below, after removing bees:

Above, Michaela welcomes guests to her apiary; below, smoking her bees before installing a nuc:

Above, Dahlia helping at a hive inspection; below, holding a  bee:

Below, Chris seems happy to have bees all over his suit!

Above, Michaela shows Sophia how to press foundation into a frame at our April 5 hive assembling workshop; below, Michaela, mom Terrie, & new friends Isa & Sophia pose with a stack of new hive bodies & supers for Michaela's and grandmother Linda's apiaries:

Above, LCBA member Sharette Giese & daughter Alesha pose with their prize-winning Woogie Bee honey at the 2013 Southwest Washington Fair; below, Alesha poses with her first prize beeswax candle: 

Above, Michaela with her new package bees at this year's package bee pickup; below, Nina with a drone at last year's bee pickup day:

Above, Anneke with drone at 2013 package bee pickup; below, Michaela with one of this year's drones: