Cranberry Township gets up close, personal with honeybees
CRANBERRY TWP — Residents interested in learning more about the art of beekeeping had a chance to get up close and personal with honeybees at a new community apiary located at the Cranberry Highlands Golf Course on Saturday.
Mason Miller of the public works department received approval in March from township supervisors to build an apiary at Cranberry Highlands Golf Course. The project is part of the course's Audubon Sanctuary certification program.
A beekeeper in his spare time, Miller said then that pollinators such as honey bees have declined over the past decade, making such a centrally located sanctuary an important project. The sanctuary is located on a portion of secluded land with easy access near water and a nectar source.
Miller and fellow beekeeper Kyle Pattison offered public tours of the pollinator gardens at the community apiary, allowed the public to peek inside hives, and explained how interested parties could keep hives at apiary starting next year.Both men are part of Burgh Bees, a nonprofit organization working in partnership with the Penn State Cooperative Extension. The group aims to introduce beekeeping to the region to promote bees and beekeeping.The program develops and maintains urban apiaries, such as the one in Cranberry Township.
