from Medford Leas Life, May 2009
Many residents will remember Mickey Gray, who died last December. Mickey’s daughter, Correy, is an amateur beekeeper. A registered member of the NJ Beekeepers Association, she has completed a beekeeping course offered by Rutgers and is currently participating in an internship in Gladstone, NJ.
At the March meeting of the Arboretum Committee, Jane Weston, Director of Marketing and Community Relations, presented a proposal from Correy. It explained that an ideal location for honeybees is one with a south-facing entrance in full sun. Their hives need the protection of trees to guard them from wind. They must also have accessible water, but must avoid dampness and flooding. Correy had approached Medford Leas to ask about the possibility of placing a hive in the meadow behind the silo. Another possibility would be a hive on the Lumberton campus. The hive or hives would be made of stacked wooden boxes 16” x 20”. Correy would tend the hives herself, and they would be inspected twice a year by the State Department of Agriculture to check for disease.
The Arboretum Committee referred Correy’s proposal to John Caughey, chairman of the MLRA Nature Coordinating Committee, and Miriam Swartz, chair of the Bird Club and resident of Lumberton. If the project is approved, Correy hopes that the bees will accumulate enough food to sustain the hive through the winter. However, it will be some time before the hive can be expected to produce enough honey to be shared. On the other hand, as a direct result of the bees’ presence, there could be immediate increases in flower and vegetable production.