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Adaptive Beekeeping

Some attainable options for “when your thoughts makes a promise that your physique can’t fill.”*

By: Ross Conrad

I turned 60 final 12 months and I’m beginning to ponder how for much longer I can be bodily capable of hold bees on the dimensions that I’ve grown used to. This led me to attend an internet adaptive beekeeping webinar. The webinar was hosted by the group AgrAbility whose motto is “Cultivating Assessable Agriculture.” In response to their web site, the mission of AgrAbility is “to reinforce high quality of life for farmers, ranchers and different agricultural staff with disabilities, in order that they, their households and their communities proceed to reach rural America.” AgrAbility permits farmers, loggers and fishermen to maintain working even when disabled from previous age, damage or sickness. The net program opened me as much as the world of adaptive beekeeping instruments and applied sciences that simply may assist me proceed to maintain bees nicely into my 90’s, ought to I make it that far.

Wealthy Weiske, president of the Michigan Beekeepers Affiliation, demonstrates the rotating horizontal hive from www.horizontalbees.com. This hive will accommodate an individual utilizing a wheelchair. Picture courtesy of Ned Stoller, Easterseals Michigan AgrAbility.

Main the webinar was Michigan AgrAbility Assistive Know-how Skilled, Ned Stoller, who laid out the three methods beekeepers like myself can use to adapt and succeed regardless of most of the bodily limitations that one may encounter in life. The three methods are:

• Use one thing that has already been invented and is obtainable to make the work simpler.
• Modify instruments or tools to allow duties that may in any other case be unattainable or unhealthy.
• Create a brand new software fully from scratch (that is the costliest method).

Apiary Entry
Certainly one of my major duties as a beekeeper is to have the ability to achieve entry to my apiary and convey alongside all of the instruments and tools wanted to work with the bees. Situating apiaries which might be shut by and in places which might be car accessible permits using all kinds of transportation choices, from vehicles and vans, to ATVs and golf carts. Ought to I expertise mobility points, permitting a car to hold me to the beeyard reduces the necessity to stroll loaded down plenty of instruments and tools. The trouble to move my instruments and tools could be additional diminished by storing them within the beeyard relatively than having to hold all of it backwards and forwards.

A much less probably costly possibility is a few sort of stroll behind, wheeled conveyance comparable to a inexperienced home cart that may carry every thing I require for a go to to the apiary. Ought to I discover myself with restricted energy, a self-propelled unit that doesn’t should be pushed comparable to an electrical power-wagon might be extra fascinating. A motorized hydraulic carry cart wouldn’t solely carry my stuff, however would stop me from having to bend over when eradicating or including supers.

Whether or not self-propelled or not, such units may function a walker to lean on whereas in transit. Even a software belt could be thought-about a mobility gadget since it may well unlock palms for dealing with issues like a cane or walker.

Kirk Webster positions his hives simply far sufficient aside that his home made bench will match between every set of hives permitting him to work 4 colonies earlier than having to maneuver his bench to a different set of hives. Kirk turns 70 years previous subsequent 12 months and says that if it wasn’t for this bench/hive lifter, he wouldn’t nonetheless be strolling immediately. Picture courtesy of Kirk Webster, Champlain Valley Bees and Queens.

Hand in hand with attending to the beeyard, is setting the apiary up in order that it’s simple to maneuver round in. This implies setting issues up with entry in thoughts, and eradicating journey hazards comparable to rocks and tall grass. Ned Stoller recommends laying down an previous, used pool cowl within the apiary to smother the grass underneath and across the hives. Applicable spacing between hives must even be thought-about. Ought to I get to the purpose the place I’m unable to face for lengthy durations of time, positioning stools by every hive supplies a handy place to take a seat ought to I have to relaxation throughout a colony inspection.

Hive Work
Years in the past, I used to be advised by one in every of my mentors that each one one must be a profitable beekeeper is a powerful again and a weak thoughts. Deep supers filled with honey are round 80 kilos, whereas even a shallow of honey weighs in at about 40 kilos. Listening to correct ergonomics when working within the beeyard is essential. When lifting, I attempt to hold my again straight and carry with my legs by bending my knees relatively than bending on the waist. I additionally attempt to bear in mind to keep away from leaning out or rotating on the waist when lifting or placing one thing heavy down, and as an alternative use my toes to show or step nearer with a view to hold my middle of gravity as close to to my physique as attainable.

One other essential method to assist stop again damage is by merely staying nicely hydrated. I can inform you from private expertise that I’m far more susceptible to again aches and muscle spasms when I’ve not been consuming sufficient water, than when I’ve saved myself nicely hydrated.

Ought to good ergonomics and hydration not be sufficient to maintain my again in form, it’s time to cut back the load. A method to do this is to make use of 8-frame tools relatively than the usual 10-frame hives. Alternatively, frames of honey and brood could be eliminated one body at a time relatively than by shifting a complete tremendous directly. I simply have to arrange empty supers by which to position every body as soon as it’s faraway from the hive. Following the inspection, the frames could be returned to the hive, once more, one body at a time. One other method is to mentor new beekeepers who can do the lifting for me whereas I share my information and expertise with them.

This bench made by Kirk Webster hooks to the underside board of the hive so it may be tilted again and raised to waist top for inspections, requiring a minimal quantity of bending and lifting on the a part of the beekeeper. Picture courtesy of Kirk Webster, Champlain Valley Bees and Queens.

Preserving hives on raised hive stands reduces the necessity to bend over. Sadly, raised hive stands may create points throughout a great honey 12 months if honey supers are stacked excessive. In such circumstances, utilizing a step stool or small ladder turns into mandatory when inspecting and eradicating honey supers. Alternatively, harvesting honey periodically all through the season relatively than unexpectedly on the finish of the season, would stop potential damage from lifting heavy honey supers over my head.

Even when I couldn’t rise up, sustaining beekeeping actions shouldn’t be out of the query due to the Straightforward-B-Stand, the wheelchair accessible swivel horizontal hive. The Straightforward-B-Stand rotates the hive at a forty five diploma angle making the colony accessible even when in a seated place.

A few of my apiaries are situated in tough terrain that can make wheelchair entry tough even when populated with hives that tilt. Thus, ought to I discover myself in a wheelchair, I’d think about housing hives on a trailer, or in a small constructing or shed, which might make colonies simpler to entry by wheelchair, and supply a cushty inside local weather for working in on the identical time.

Shifting Hives
I’m not a giant man, and so whereas I can transfer nucleus colonies simply on my own, a two-person hive provider has been my go to for shifting full dimension hives. Different potential choices for shifting hives embrace: hand dollies, a forked hand truck, cranes, the EZ carry hive hand truck, hive lifter tongs, the Kaptar hive physique carry or varied different hive and tremendous lifters in the marketplace, which might be usually powered hydraulically or by cables and pulleys.

The GripEeze Velcro grip glove will securely maintain a software with out the employee squeezing their hand. This will work for hive instruments, uncapper instruments, carrying pails, and so on. Picture courtesy of Ned Stoller, Easterseals Michigan AgrAbility.

Getting a Grip
Ought to my palms cease working in addition to they used to, and strengthening workouts fail to assist improve my gripping energy, I’ve choices. A lot of gripping aids can be found in the marketplace from the frequent Body Grip, to merchandise like Gripeeze, a grip glove that incorporates a Velcro strap that makes it simple to hold onto one thing, comparable to a hive software, for an prolonged time frame.

For infrequent arthritis flare-ups, beekeeping instruments could be modified by merely wrapping them in a chunk of pipe insulation. This softens the gripping floor and locations much less pressure on the palms. Equally, including ¾ to 1 inch thick picket cleats to the surface of supers and hive our bodies make them simpler to grip and carry.

Ought to I begin discovering supers tough to separate, an additional lengthy hive software that gives extra leverage to assist get these packing containers aside simply may be the reply I’m in search of.

Much less bodily, but simply as essential to beekeeping is eye sight. Not that that is mandatory. François Huber, who was blind, famously studied the honey bee with the assistance of an assistant and wrote about his findings. I have already got 4 eyes, but when they want extra assist, there are quite a few imaginative and prescient helping merchandise accessible immediately comparable to head-mounted beekeeper magnifying glasses that characteristic a battery-powered lamp for further gentle.

Preserving monitor of issues can be an essential a part of beekeeping. Reminiscence helping notes that element essential info, whether or not paper or digital, helps, so long as I can bear in mind the place I put my journal, or the password to entry it.

Modifying instruments and applied sciences to compensate for bodily disabilities is only one approach to adapt with a view to proceed preserving bees. I do know of 1 industrial beekeeper who upon retirement, offered his beekeeping operation and set issues up in order that he continued to have a large apiary in his yard and the brand new homeowners of his enterprise took on the first function of caring for the bees, however permit him to proceed to putter within the beeyard each time he needed whilst he aged nicely into his 90’s.

In response to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, one out of 4 individuals within the U.S. have some type of incapacity. Whether or not I’ve a incapacity or am simply ageing naturally, this doesn’t essentially imply that I’ve to ultimately hand over preserving bees so long as I plan forward and set myself as much as be adaptable.

Most elderly beekeepers seldom retire and cease preserving bees, they simply adapt by reducing again. A industrial beekeeper with 1000’s of colonies may reduce to 100. A sideliner with a pair hundred colonies may scale back the quantity to a couple dozen. And a yard beekeeper with a dozen or so colonies may reduce to some hives. Beekeepers are inclined to solely cease preserving bees when it’s merely unattainable to do it anymore. As this text signifies, there are lots of concepts and choices on the market on how one can proceed beekeeping, even when ones’ skill to maintain on preserving on turns into questionable.

*Line borrowed from the track “Previous People Boogie” by Little Feat

Ross Conrad retains bees in Middlebury, VT and is writer of The Land of Milk and Honey: A historical past of beekeeping in Vermont. Ross can be instructing a two day newbie beekeeping intensive Might 18-19, 2024. For extra info or to register contact Ross at dancingbhoney@gmail.com