To celebrate Earth Day, RMC Ridgway is partnering with the Ridgway Community Apiary in an effort to support the organization’s mission of raising awareness of the significance of pollinators. RMC Ridgway will donate 20% of our flower sales on 4/22 to help fund additional bee suits for visitors to use and purchase some bee-friendly plantings for the bee habitat.
We had the privilege of chatting with Bee Master Fred Boyle. With 60 years of experience dealing with bees and their BEEhaviors, Fred and the team are experts at handling bees. Fred mentioned that he even has the ability to talk “bee,” and it’s the best way to learn what they need. A true testament to why Fred and the gang are so good at what they do is that they prefer to be called “Bee hosts” rather than “keepers” As Fred said, “kept things, well, don’t seem to be very happy, and we want our bees to be happy.” Definitely, a value RMC can get behind.
The goal of the Ridgway Apiary is to help restore the local bee population, as it has declined over the years. They pride themselves in offering treatment-free practices which involve no harsh chemicals and rely on healthier gene pools in the bees instead. They work closely with the local high school and offer small day field trips for the students and other community organizations to learn about the importance of bees and pollination. They even offer a “loaner program” where they will let you borrow their suits to get up close and personal with the habitat. Hive equipment is also available to newcomers. We are thrilled to work with the Ridgway Apiary this year. If you want to support them in their efforts, please visit their Facebook page!
