Bee Keeping

We are distressed to report that our beehives, maintained by volunteers at the Preserve, have been vandalized.

Kevin McCauley reported (to other beekeepers) that his hive and one other had been opened and left open. Kevin put his hive back together. Julia Mahood went over to see and found that all three hives had the tops off, all had supers displaced with the bees exposed to the elements.  This means the vandals returned after their first visit, since Kevin had put his hive back together. "This hive was the healthiest one I've had at BH and now, going into winter, I am not confident at all that they'll survive since their honey store was wiped out and their population took a big hit.", Julia said. "We had just consolidated them in preparation for winter, and they were left for who knows how long without a top, exposed to recent rain. We put some cabled bike locks on them, but the damage is done."

If you have noticed any suspicious activity near the bee hives or anywhere on the Preserve, please call 911 and report it. You can also send us an email.

We had a beautiful article about our bees in the September 25th edition of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. Beekeeper Julia Mahood and family are featured and discuss the thrill of beekeeping, the sadness of losing hives to natural disasters like the recent flooding of the Nature Preserve and the lessons learned and shared with the community.

Read the article in it's entirety HERE.

"When Julia Mahood opens her honeybee hive within sight of Roswell Road, she feels a surgeon’s burden. The insects’ home is an intricate, interconnected universe. One wrong move can upset or even destroy all of it.

She knows they could live more freely in a tree hollow, a la Winnie the Pooh, but trees and bees are going away — a warning sign that the environment is in peril. So each month Mahood uses these hives, at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve in north Buckhead, to teach new beekeepers. Bees connect her to the earth, to others and herself. They’ve taught her to let go of her childhood fear of being stung.

She’s learned harder lessons, too. "

All photos courtesy of Bita Honarvar - AJC.com

Julia Mahood - Beekeeper

Julias' son Noah, 13, inspecting a hive at the apiary on the Blue Heron Nature Preserve.

Here are some great links to Linda Tillmans' Blog on her bees - many interesting photos!

Linda has posted a lot more about Blue Heron on her blog,  just search "Blue Heron" at the top of the first page and you'll find lots and lots of posts: