BEE SYMPOSIUM A GO-GO

BEE SYMPOSIUM Saturday, March 7, 2009
Bee Symposium 2009

The Honeybee Crisis: A Critical Point in Evolution
"Beekeeping that Respects the Colony as an Organism" Holistic Solutions to Colony Collapse Disorder. This year’s symposium will explore our critical point in evolution, and how we might protect honeybees for the future.

Our special guest speaker is Gunther Hauk, an authority on natural beekeeping. Gunther is a well renowned author, biodynamic gardener and beekeeper for 33 years. In 2006, Gunther co-founded Spikenard Farm, Inc., a 610 acre farm with a honeybee sanctuary at its heart.

The day will also include a panel discussion with Gunther and local beekeepers: Kathy Kellison (Partners for Sustainable Pollination) Serge Labesque (Santa Rosa JC Beekeeping Instructor) Michael Thiele (Natural Beekeeping Teacher) & Doug Vincent (Owner/ Instructor beekind Beekeeping Supply)

SATURDAY TIME LINE  

9:00 AM Intro/Welcome
9:15 Gunther Hauk
10:45 Break
11:15 Gunther Hauk
NOON Michael Thiele (on Natural Comb)
12:30 PM Lunch
2:00 Video clips of "Queen of The Sun"
2:15 Gunther Hauk
4:00 Break
4:15 to 6:00 Panel Discussion

This is my third year attending the annual Bee Symposium hosted by Beekind at the Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm in Santa Rosa.  Every year there are a couple things I look forward to:
Well, Christmas of course, (If my wife is reading) my anniversary, The Sea Otter Classic mountain bike race in April, The Friend’s of the Napa Library book sales – okay, they’re every other month but I still really look forward to them, The Turkey Trot Thanksgiving mountain bike ride in Fairfax, and these symposiums. In years past there have been some amazing people speaking about bees. This year was particularly exciting because the primary speaker, Gunther Hauk, was talking about biodynamic beekeeping. Curious enough while I was in the Berkshires earlier this year someone gave me Gunther’s book "Toward Saving the Honeybee" which really made me re-think my beekeeping strategy. I read the book on the flight home and thought his overall spin on beekeeping was pretty interesting. He feels we should be looking at our colonies as a whole, rather than as individual components. I assigned the book as the text in my class which opened a lot of dialog.  Not everyone bought into it, but at least it offered a new perspective. Some of the things he discusses in his book and in person are a little Waldorfian Woo Woo for me, yet some of it really makes sense. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fruity for Rudy (Steiner) and every year I get closer and closer to biodynamic beekeeping. I mean the root day, leaf day thing is a little much but I'm certainly open to the preps and some aspects of the spiritology. Not sure I’ll ever get all the way there but between Gunther’s book and meeting Michael Lauher at Connolly Ranch I’m getting pretty Steiner. I feel most comfortable looking at all the different approaches to beekeeping and picking and choosing for what works best for me and my bees. Hanging my hat, or veil -with only one approach to keeping bees is for the beekeeper that dosen't have a mind of their own.  For the most part I subscribe to school of Serge but even so we have our differences. The way Serge looks at the species feels intuitive to me.
Intuitive: in·tu·i·tive  adj
1.known directly and instinctively, without being discovered or consciously perceived
2.knowing things instinctively.
Times are tough for bees, the “me “ and “my” bees attitude is tired. As the new school sustainable beekeepers, we are at the forefront of honeybee problems and have to be adaptable, open to all new approaches and techniques, continually assessing our progress, and most importantly be willing to change protocol if we see it’s not working. Of course, open dialog and sharing ideas with other like minded beekeepers is extremely important as well. This is why I love the symposium every year, feel blessed Serge attends our lil’ Napa Beekeepers meetings, and excited about being involved with my local bee freaks marching forward in the fight for the species.
To me the highlights to the symposium were the people I commuted over with: Eric Huczko, Lorinda Fallini, and Arnie Bunter.  What could be better than riding with three super engaged beeks in a Prius? Sitting with Lisa Sambora was pretty cool too.
Gunther Hauk was the primary speaker through-out the day. I really enjoyed the way the he brought so much more into the discussion than just bees. The way we address bees, the language we use to describe bees, spiritual body of the bee, the beehive as it’s own entity, and the correlation with the hive and human body. He compares the hive to the organs in the human body. Perhaps it is my history working in veterinary medicine but I’m particularly drawn to the body as metaphor. Body, blood , guts, bees, it’s all good with me. Think about it,.. the hive is very much like a vital organ, I can see how bees could be a functioning part of an internal organ. Well, if bees lived in your body… Gunther also has a lot to say about the bees need to produce their own wax. He compares the amazing rhythmic process of wax production to the forming of our bones, only outside of their bodies. Michael Thiele had Gunther’s wax back with his talk on how important the production is to the vitality of the colony. Michael was in a lecturer at the Melissa Garden skep building class I attended last summer. I like his belief that beekeepers need to follow their own natural instincts. He talks about when working your bees one needs to listen to their internal gut instints. I find this to be very true and often I make my beekeeping decisions based on what feels right to me instinctually, at least at the time. Often I rethink my actions later and wonder what the hell was I doing…? 
Equally as interesting to any of the lectures was talking with Kathy Kellison over our veggie lasagna lunch. She is so immersed in pollinator politics and has bee-speak so wired everyone around was intriqued by what she had to say. It's interestingb because I feel like Kathy and myself are on the same pollinator page but her approach is so much more gentle and rational, I suggested we start a coupe. Although the best part of the day had to be the panel discussion at the end of the symposium. It was a riot with the spiritual vs. the practical and Doug Vincent sitting dead center. Gunther and local beekeepers: Kathy Kellison ,Serge Labesque, Eric Mussen, Michael Thiele, and Doug Vincent all got a chance to address the audience. Eric was awesome, he really knows how to fire-up that Waldorf throng. Every year he seams to go fist to cuffs over the science of beekeeping with the tie-dyed propolis crowd. The thing is Eric is about the biggest bee-head in the nation that knows more about bees than the bees know about themselves.  I guess it all boils down to love and science. Ross Rubin wrapped the whole symposium up with his hilariously true statement that Gunther Hauk needed a lot more science in his beekeeping love and Eric Mussen could use a little more love in his science of beekeeping.
Genius – all three of them…

-Gunther-


Michael with April's head.


Ross and Lisa.

Blurry Bunter

Sarah Black in the back.

Ross Rubin stuck between love and science.

You've got love in my science... well, you've got science in my love. 

L 2 R - Eric, Serge, Kathy, Doug, Gunther, and Michael.

Wax head - Gunther head

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