{"id":1864,"date":"2015-03-28T14:24:59","date_gmt":"2015-03-28T22:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.PeaceCrops.net\/CSA\/?page_id=1864"},"modified":"2015-03-28T14:59:54","modified_gmt":"2015-03-28T22:59:54","slug":"the-cozy-bee-project-original-kickstarter-description","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.PeaceCrops.net\/CSA\/beekeeping\/the-cozy-bee-project-original-kickstarter-description\/","title":{"rendered":"Original Kickstarter Description"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cozy Bee Project<\/strong>\"CozyBeeBanner1024bottom\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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In over a century since its introduction, the Langstroth hive has become the de-facto standard for keeping bees in North America. For years, different configurations of roofs, bottoms, and vents have been tried with the intent of making the hive more hospitable for bees. The effectiveness of these measures has been judged mostly by intuition, and passed down to generations of beekeepers by word-of-mouth and common practice. My study aims to evaluate the performance of several hive roof styles by using computerized data loggers to track the humidity and temperature inside the hive through the critical overwinter months. Then, with the help of scientists at Oregon State University’s\u00a0Honey Bee Lab<\/a>, I’ll compare that data to external climate data and draw objective conclusions so beekeepers can make informed choices that will help increase the chances of their bees surviving the winter. A final report will be made public to beekeepers on the internet and offered for presentation at the\u00a0Oregon State Beekeepers Association<\/a>\u00a0annual conference.<\/p>\n

About me<\/h1>\n

\"WorkingMy name is Jim Fanjoy, and I’m a beekeeper. I started with bees after serving with the Peace Corps in Guatemala, and now I keep about 20 hives at my farm in Oregon, where we produce raw unfiltered honey as well as apiary products like lip balm and beeswax. I love spreading the word about bees: I lecture on beekeeping at community events,\u00a0mentor apprentices in the\u00a0Oregon Master Beekeeper program<\/a>, and I teach bee classes here in the US as well as Latin America.<\/p>\n

I’m also a meticulous, technically-oriented guy. In my professional life, I’m an architect who spends a lot of time engineering structural systems and designing building infrastructure. This got me to thinking- why don’t we use the same analytical tools we use to monitor human structures to measure and improve living conditions for bees?<\/p>\n

About the project<\/h1>\n

\"\"So I mentioned this idea to some of my friends who are bee scientists and researchers at Oregon State University. Turns out, they think it’s a great idea that would benefit beekeepers (and bees) everywhere, but they don’t have the time or grant funding to take on the project\u2026 but they would be happy to lend me technical advice and guidance if I wanted to lead the effort myself.<\/p>\n

Much like the citizen-scientists of the nineteenth century, this is a chance for enthusiastic beekeepers and bee lovers to join their resources together in a grassroots effort to solve a problem for the betterment of everyone.<\/p>\n

Duration<\/h1>\n

1 year (May 2015- May 2016)<\/p>\n

Location<\/h1>\n

Northern Tillamook County, Oregon<\/p>\n

Scope<\/h1>\n
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I’ll test four roof configurations (garden, migratory, telescoping, and Vivaldi), with a minimum of four hives each for a total of sixteen hives. An outdoor data logger will track ambient air temperature and humidity at each apiary for a year. Oregon State University’s bee lab has volunteered equipment and staff time to perform regular disease testing and parasite evaluations during the experiment. At the end of the year, we’ll collate the data and draw conclusions about best practices for bee health.<\/p>\n

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Methodology<\/h1>\n

\"\"OK, if you’ve read this far, you’re serious, so here’s a rough outline of how the study will be performed. My research plan has been developed with the help of two world-renowned bee scientists, Dr. Dewey Caron (professor emeritus, University of Delaware) and Dr. Ramesh Sigili (apiculture professor, Oregon State University). \u00a0Warning: some beekeeper nerdiness to follow.<\/b><\/p>\n