Whether you like them or not, bees are an essential part of our world – playing a vital role in the survival of humans, as well as helping to sustain the environment. Unfortunately, the bee population has been on the decline as of recently, urging many people to ramp up their own efforts to help save the species.

Honey Bees Take Up Residence at Colorado State University
William A. Cotton/CSU Photograph
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Locally, CSU has been making strides to help save the bees, when they began housing two hives on campus last year. Now that winter is over, I caught up with Freddie Haberecht, a CSU student and beekeeper, to find out how they were doing and if they'd be coming out of hibernation soon. The bad news I learned, was that even though the hives went into winter nice and strong, they sadly didn't survive the colder months and early hard freeze we had. The good news, six new packages of bees are will be arriving to university from California on April 27. They will be housed at a new, much larger location just off of Centre Avenue, south of the horticulture center. In addition, a second learning apiary and large demonstration pollinator garden are also being installed, where students can learn about honeybees, beekeeping, and how they can plant and maintain their own pollinator gardens. To prevent the bees from dying during the colder months, the CSU beekeepers plan on insulating their hives more heavily, as well as moving them into a warmer location for the 2019-20 winter.

Honey Bees Take Up Residence at Colorado State University
William A. Cotton/CSU Photograph
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In October, CSU's student government voted that they will support funding for new hives. Last year, honey that was harvested from the bees was used at a farm-to-table event at one of the dining halls, and there should be more to use this time around too. Once the new bees arrive, you can check in on them with the live Bee Cam.

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