Massaro Community Farm in Woodbridge to hold beekeeping presentation

WOODBRIDGE - Come meet the new state bee inspector Paula Wolf at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Massaro Community Farm. She'll be at our first bee workshop of the season!

At this first class we'll go over how to handle your new package or nucleus of bees. All classes in person and hands on in our bee yard (weather permitting) where we'll go over all aspects of beekeeping.

Offered by Ted Jones of Jones Apiaries (Farmington), Ted leads you through all steps of beekeeping from spring through fall. Whether you're a newbie or a veteran, all levels and ages welcome.

First class begins at 9:30 a.m. All other classes will begin at 9 a.m. Wear long pants and close-toed shoes (even when it's warm). We have veils and gloves for you to borrow. 

Suggested donation of $10/pp supports ongoing education at Massaro Farm.

This is shared from a Facebook event page.

Recuperation journey: Being a bee

This is the third day in a row I've been taking closeups of bees in the yard. It takes practice, and patience.

Recuperation journey: The bee's knees

This bee's rear view is not as clear as a photo I got yesterday. 
But I think it's the same bee in a different shrub...hiding from the camera.

Honeysuckle?

Recuperation journey: Bees and breeze

I was standing next to this hedge for quite a while this afternoon because each time I thought I'd get a bee-utiful photo a breeze came and moved the leaves, causing blur issues. 
I finally got this one. Notice his back is to me. Not unlike last week when a blue jay posed on a patio table with his back to me.

Pollinators' Day slated at Kellogg Environmental Center in Derby

DERBY - Join the staff May 25 at the Kellogg Environmental Center to explore pollinators.  

Pollinators’ Day, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. May 25, is focused on the needs of pollinators and ways you can become involved in their conservation.  
Come celebrate bees, butterflies and other creatures that pollinate flowers for our food and the environmental balance.  
Activities include hikes, quizzes, and participation in Citizen Science research for monarch and bee activity.  

All ages will enjoy the focus on these important creatures during this free day of activities.  Participants will take part in planting wildflowers and adding to scientific research.  They will explore the field and gardens to look for pollination activity and pollinators themselves.  
Visitors are welcome to stay for the day and picnic on grounds.  

Tours of the Osborne Homestead Museum are also available from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.  

The Kellogg Environmental Center, a facility of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, is located at 500 Hawthorne Ave. It is open from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. 

For further information or directions email donna.kingston@ct.gov or call 203-734-2513. 


This is a press release from Kellogg Environmental Center.

Bees are topic of summer series for children at Seymour Historical Museum

The Seymour Historical Museum is located at 59 West St.

*This information is shared from the Seymour Historical Society Facebook page.  

Learn about bees, wild plants, more at Massaro Farm in Woodbridge

WOODBRIDGE - Massaro Community Farm, 41 Ford Road, has announced the following schedule of summer activities:

Helping honey bees survive workshop

July 13

6-7:30 p.m.

Do you want to know more about how bees help in our overall food culture and how you can help them thrive? 

This workshop, presented by Bill Hesbach, author, teacher, and Master Beekeeper, will cover the origin of honey bees in North America and how they serve as a vital part of our food-chain and ecology. 
We will also cover some of the threats to honey bees and how each of us can help provide some forage and habitat for their survival. 

Wild plant and fungi foraging for the summer

July 22

10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. 

The summer months are a bounty of ripe berries, nectar-laden edible flowers, amazing edible plants along the seashore, and edible mushrooms can carpet the forest floor after warm, rainy days. 
Learn how to identify, sustainably harvest, and prepare the wild foods of summer, from beach plums to invasive wineberries, including some of the choice summer fungi like chanterelles and the myriad of pored Boletes. 

Join The 3 Foragers as they teach the edible plants and fungi of summer with their original photos and recipe ideas featured in an educational slideshow, and finish with a walk outside to put some of those newly learned skills to the test.

Fermenting at the farm

Aug. 24

6-7:30 p.m.

Come and learn healthy ways to store and use up your abundance of local veggies from the farm!

Expert fermenter, Sara Servin, will be taking a sample of veggies from the farm and teaching attendees how to preserve them using salt and yeast fermentation methods. 
Learn all about how you can preserve your fresh food to use later in the year, and at the same time, improve your health by creating natural probiotic cultures that encourage digestive health. 
There is a suggested donation of $10/person and each individual will bring home something to ferment from the class.

2017 Massaro's Dinner on the Farm

Massaro Community Farm will host its Annual Dinner on the Farm from 4:30-9 p.m. Sept. 3. 
This celebration features an all-inclusive, all-local meal prepared by award winning Chef Denise Appel, incorporating meat, cheese, breads, brews, and, of course, farm vegetables. Guests dine amid the fields and flowers of historic Massaro Farm, a former family dairy farm. 

Admittance includes a farm tour with Farmer Steve Munno, open bar, hors d'ouevres interactive exhibits, and silent auction. Proceeds support the farm's commitment to farm-based education and the thousands of pounds of produce we donate each season to those in need. $150 per person.  
We look forward to seeing you at the farm! buy tickets HERE.


This is a press release from Massaro Farm.

Kellogg Center in Derby to train citizen scientists to count butterflies, bees

DERBY - Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection invites those interested in becoming citizen scientists to join DEEP staff and volunteers for a training session at Kellogg Environmental Center, 500 Hawthorne Ave.  

After training, you will be able help DEEP staff and volunteers count monarch butterflies and bumble bees as part of a research team project.

  Monarch Watch training – monarch butterflies

   7 p.m. May 17 

 Great Sunflower Project training – bumble bees

  10 a.m. June 4

Families and individuals may take part in either, or both, of the programs, but must attend a training.   

Upon completion of the training program(s) we will ask you to be part of the Kellogg volunteer research team recording the activity of monarchs and bumble bees in the fields and gardens surrounding the Kellogg Environmental Center.  

Research takes place May through September.  

Volunteers will be scheduled for weekdays or weekends based on their availability.  

Data will be compiled and submitted to the national website research stations, helping scientists understand population fluctuations in North America and how it relates to habitat loss, diversity and climate.

This is a great family event to get children and parents outside observing the natural environment.  All ages can help collect information and photos of bee and butterfly activity.  

Registration for either, or both, of the free trainings is required.  

For further information, directions, or to register, call the Center, 203-734-2513 or email donna.kingston@ct.gov.  

This is a press release from DEEP.

Seymour Historical Society program to highlight honey bees

This is a release from the Seymour Historical Society.