7-20-2026 4:27am

Working Together To Grow The Bee Population

Beth Callahan Editor

WARREN COUNTY, OH -- Studies show that the bee population is in decline. Between June 2024 and March 2025, a study from the Honey Bee Health Coalition found that commercial bee keepers lost 1.6 million bee colonies (an average loss of 62%). While this news was definitely not good news, since bee pollination is a vital role for produce to be grown, scientist and organizations around the country have begun working on ways to protect and help increase bee hive numbers.

Here, locally in Warren County, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden's Bowyer Farm and the Warren County Ohio Beekeepers Association are working together to provide a safe and nurturing apiary for honey bees to thrive and grow and, also, provide a site for people to come and learn.

Back in June, the two organizations held a ribbon cutting at Bowyer Farms celebrating the five new bee hives installed on the zoo's property, which will be maintained by the Warren County Ohio Beekeeper Association.

"At the heart of everything we do is a deep passion for bees, honey, and the vital role pollinators play in our world. This is more than our work — it’s what we love. Our mission is to inspire and educate bee lovers of all ages, fostering a community that supports pollinator health, celebrates the wonders of the hive, and shares the sweet rewards of nature," reads the Warren County Ohio Beekeepers Association website

When the association's president Laura Fazekas, spoke at the ribbon cutting, she shared with members and guest, that when the project was first being discussed she wasn't quite sure how they were going to make a community apiary happen.

"Just all the logistics," she said, adding that when the associations vice president Anya Sanchez found the Cincinnati Zoo's Bowyer Farms, they knew..."this is exactly what we had been waiting for!"

Fazekas explained that Bowyer Farms is just not a place to put hives, but it is a place where a person who is interested in raising bees can get hands on experience. "They can decided if they want to be more of a helper. Or, is it a hobby where they want to actually have their own personal hives," she said.

After the decision had been made to build an apiary at the farm, bee boxes needed to be built and bees needed to be found to move into the boxes. Dallas Jackson, the associations treasurer, shared how they got bees to come.

"Mid March we decided to do this. But, the question was how do we get the bees without having a lot of expense?" Jackson said.

Jackson explained that they put up three swarm boxes on March 29 and by April 9th they had a swarm of bees heading towards the swarm box.

"The next morning we had a meeting here and installed five hives. On April 13, we see another swarm... a huge swarm. Lauren comes out the next day to check the swarm box, but not a bee was there. We walk over here (to where the hives had been built). The swarm had moved from there to here... all by itself!" Jackson said, adding that in less than 30 days, they had five swarms occupying the five bee boxes.

"We didn't have to purchase one swarm!" he noted.

Fazekas explained that small hives host about 2,000 bees while a larger hive can hold close to 60,000 bees. And, once the bees get settled into their new hive, the association hopes to be able to extract the local honey from the hives to sell.

Chase Bodkin, from the Cincinnati Zoo, explained the benefit of having the apiary on the zoo grounds. It's a win win for both organizations. The bees help to pollinate the plants that grow on the farm that help feed the animals at the zoo, and the Warren County Ohio Beekeeper Association gets to do what they love... "protect our pollinators, spread the buzz, and keep the honey flowing."

For more information on the Warren County Ohio Beekeepers Association visit its website at warrencountyohiobeekeepers.org

To watch the dedication of the Warren County Ohio Beekeeper Association's Apiary at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden's Bowyer Farm click the video below.