CREATION OF THE LOUISIANA BEE SANCTUARY 2018 Piney Woods Journal Submission Ruston area beekeeper, Aaron Jennings, Louisiana Tech University and Ruston city officials are planning for the first bee sanctuary in the state to open later this year. Jennings has been promoting the idea of a bee sanctuary for the area since 2015 and has been donating five per cent of the profits from Jennings Apiaries to this cause. He was partially influenced in proposing this bee sanctuary by the documentary film, Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? The film explored historical and recent relationships between bees and humans. It featured a beekeeper, Gunther Hauk, at the Spikenard Bee Sanctuary and Biodynamic Farm in Floyd, Virginia. Jennings received the assistance of a donor in late 2017 to pay the filing fee for IRS status as a non-profit organization for the Louisiana Bee Sanctuary, and it was on the way to becoming reality. Louisiana Tech is to provide the land for the bee sanctuary, and Ruston will be providing some of the support, such as trash pickup and security. It will be located on the South Campus of Tech near Lomas Hall and the School of Agricultural Science and Forestry where they have the facilities for classes and entertaining visitors. Initially there will be Langstrope, top-bar and Warre types of honey bee hive designs there to show the diversity of approaches that beekeeping can take. Bees for the sanctuary have been ordered and should be delivered by May. A beekeeping supply company, BeeBuilt, based in Portland, Oregon, will provide very attractive and functional hive boxes and equipment for these hives. The first phase of the sanctuary project is getting the bee hives located on the site and putting sustaining plants there. Some planning details remain, including liability issues. Agri-tourism law and regulations need to be followed with signs, waivers, and protections for visitors. Tech has the bee sanctuary area designated, but as of March not all of the requirements and approvals have been completed. Anticipated is a roughly 1000-square foot area with a fence or barrier to mark its boundary and near a pond on the Tech Farm site. There is already nearby bee forage, such as clover, for the bees, but native plants are to be added. Jenning’s wife and business partner, Lauren, is getting her masters in horticultural therapy from Kansas State University, and she will be providing knowledge and assistance to help put native, pollinator-friendly plants at the site. Lagniappe Ladies, a philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting Tech’s mission and vision has also provided funding recently to start a pollinator garden very near the site for this bee sanctuary. Louisiana Tech views the bee sanctuary as another way to attract more student interest in its programs in ag-related fields. Aaron and Lauren Jennings will be working with different departments at Tech, such as their landscape artists, to help design the bee sanctuary. They hope that ecological organizations, such as the Nature Conservancy, can eventually be sources for additional funds for more pollinator plants and soil improvement. They are also contacting local or area pharmacies for possible donations of Epi-pens for the sanctuary and for any allergic reaction to possible bee stings that might occur for visitors. One generous local donor has already pledged $2500 for the sanctuary, and Aaron doesn't believe that much additional funding will be required in the early stages of sanctuary development. Although the focus in the initial stage of the sanctuary is honey bees, there have been discussions for adding shelters or “hotels” for different types of native bees and bumble bees at the site. Aaron plans to spend four to eight hours weekly at the sanctuary. He is listed as board director for the bee sanctuary, and is the contact person now for questions and information (aaron@jenningsapiaries.com). Anyone who wants to make a charitable contribution to this non-profit organization can do so, particularly when work is completed soon on the Louisiana Bee Sanctuary web site.
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