Bee Green: ESC to host Central Ohio Beekeeper’s Ass’n. at Earth Day Celebration

For more than 30 years, the Central Ohio Beekeeper’s Association (“COBA”) has supported the honeybee industry by connecting local beekeepers and offering classes and other resources to both beekeepers and the public.

The mission behind COBA and other bee keeping associations has become increasingly important.  At one time, Ohio had the largest bee-supply manufacture in the world, and sent out more queen bees than any other state.  However, in recent years, Ohio has experienced a sharp decline in the number of honeybees.  This trend has occurred across the rest of the U.S., as well.  Although the cause of the decrease has not been confirmed, bee experts suspect that it is the cumulative result of pesticide use, mites that prey on the bees, insufficient diets, and reduced foraging areas.  Recent harsh winters have also hampered efforts to increase the bee population here in Ohio.  After last winter, many beekeepers lost 40% of their hives, and some beekeepers lost up to 90% of their hives.

The current struggles honeybees face makes the mission and efforts of COBA all the more crucial to ensuring the future of honeybees.  Through its educational and outreach efforts, COBA not only helps bee keepers maintain and increase their hives, but also educates the public at large on what can be done by everyone to support the bees.

The ESC is proud to announce that a representative from COBA will be attending the Earth Day event on April 25th.  Fittingly, the theme of this year’s Earth Day event is “Bee Green.”  We hope that you and your family will take the opportunity to visit with COBA at our event and learn more about Ohio’s honeybees.

To learn more about COBA and how you can help the bees, visit http://www.centralohiobeekeepers.org/.