Honeybees to buzz in Oak Brook's nature sanctuary
Oak Brook Park District's 40-acre Dean Nature Sanctuary features a unique combination of ecosystems native to Illinois, including oak savanna, wetlands, ponds and prairie habitats. This spring, the park district will introduce five colonies of honeybees to the park.
"Our board and staff recognize the real danger that Colony Collapse Disorder poses to the overall health of the United States as a whole, and we have the perfect opportunity here to make a positive and significant difference," says Laure Kosey, executive director of the Oak Brook Park District.
Though Illinois is the nation's top producer of pumpkins, a crop that depends on honeybees for pollination, the majority of the state's agricultural land is used for corn and soybeans. Honeybees do not pollinate these plants, leaving the vast majority of the state's farmland void of any significant sustenance for the insects, which may contribute to CCD in Illinois.
The park district is working with Sweet Comb Chicago, an apiary that was established in a Northside backyard in Rogers Park to provide bees with a diverse range of nectar away from the monocultures created by big industry.
According to Sweet Comb Chicago, micro apiaries, like the one planned for the Dean Nature Sanctuary, give honeybees vital access to native and nutrient-rich pollen that contains protein, lipids, vitamins and minerals necessary to maintaining healthy colonies.
The bees will be housed in custom-built hives in a location away from picnic areas and walking paths at the nature sanctuary, 115 Canterberry Lane. The hives, provided by Sweet Comb Chicago are constructed of red cedar, which is not a typical material for beehives.
However, the durable nature of red cedar makes an ideal and long-lasting home for honeybees that can stand up to long, wet Chicago winters.
It is estimated that each of the park district's colonies could produce anywhere from 50 to 200 pounds of honey per year. Sweet Comb Chicago will inspect the hives throughout the season and make harvest recommendations based on the health of each individual colony.
"We usually don't do a fall harvest because we want to make sure the bees have ample food stores to get them through the long winter," says Sweet Comb Chicago founder Martin Lopez.
When the hives have produced enough honey that it can be harvested without risking the health of the colony, the community will have the opportunity to buy it through the Oak Brook Park District Foundation.
The foundation will use the funding from honey sales to help enhance the growth and preservation of parks, open lands and programming in Oak Brook.
For information on the importance of honeybees and the positive impact they have on Illinois' ecosystem and local economy, visit sweetcombchicago.com.