Madison Environmental Commission Presents a Behind-The-Scenes Look at Beekeeping

Madison, NJ – May 28, 2021 – On June 2 at 7:30 p.m., Madison’s beekeepers and pollinator gardeners are coming together for a behind-the-scenes look at beekeeping, plus tips on bee-friendly plants to grow in your yard. The event, sponsored by the Madison Environmental Commission (MEC), will be held on Zoom. Register by visiting https://madisonpollinators.eventbrite.com.

‘Meet Madison’s Beekeepers and Pollinator Gardeners’ will feature Tom Salaki and Blair Conley, members of the popular Beekeeping Club, and Joan Maccari, a native plant educator and MEC member who writes the MEC’s ‘What’s Blooming’ newsletter.

For Salaki, beekeeping is a neighborhood endeavor. He shares two backyard hives with Martin Rambush - his next-door neighbor. “Bees will fly up to five miles to collect honey, so the health of my hives really depends on the community—on the plants it grows and the pesticides it uses,” said Salaki. Mosquito fogging, he points, out relies on pyrethroids that “kill nearly all the insects they contact, not just adult mosquitoes,” according to the research of Dr. Douglas Tallamy, a noted wildlife expert and author of Nature’s Best Hope.

Conley keeps two hives at the Community Garden Apiary. His bees benefit from the thriving pollinator meadow at the Madison Recreational Complex that is one of several pollinator gardens that will be discussed by Maccari. Other important pollinator sites are the Drew Forest Preserve, Gibbons Pines Garden and the Butterfly Garden at Central Avenue School.

“Bee populations are under severe threat of habitat loss,” says Maccari. “But the suburbs are actually an ideal remedy. If we all take a corner of our yards and plant species favored by native bees and honeybees we can create a collective impact,” continued Maccari. As part of her talk, she will provide a ‘Bee Favorite’ plant list, along with bee-friendly alternatives to damaging pesticides and herbicides.

For questions or copies of the handouts, please contact MEC@rosenet.org.