Summer 2025 marked the clubs introduction to participation in the Sandwich Farmers Market, our first ever Dandelion Festival, and participation in the Harbo Assay training for detecting varroa sensitive hygienic bees!

Sandwich Farmers Market – Members were invited to set up an information booth and answer questions on beekeeping, honey bee biology and behaviors, as well as products of the hive.

Any member of the club was welcome to offer their honey and/or beeswax products for sale. Several took advantage of the opportunity. The beekeepers were welcomed with open arms and are invited to come back next summer.

Summer Picnic 2025 – NH State Beekeepers

Muster Field Farm Museum, Harvey Road North Sutton, NH

We were well represented for this annual event featuring guest speakers Sam Comfort, Dave Wade, and Troy Hall. Brice trained with other club beekeepers in the Harbo Assay method of detecting varroa sensitive hygienic honey bees.

Wonalancet Dandelion Festival

Kelly Goodson inspired the club and the community to come together to honor the humble dandelion this spring. Gunner Berg joined in with samples of his dandelion wine, Brice Bennett shared tips and insights on “bee lining”, and Athena Contus shared some of the history and value of these nutritious flowering “weeds”. Kelly & Ian spoke about the importance of good soil and how the dandelion helps heal poor soil for our valuable community of wildflowers.

While our flowering plants and trees take turns looking for attention, some offering nectar, some pollen, some both; weather and climate are a constant challenge to all our valuable pollinators, but reliably, the humble dandelion is there, much like the honey bee journeying across continents, picking up the slack, surviving in the most unlikely of places, in fields, on the road edges, sparkling in the sun on our lawns, all late spring through summer.

The dandelion offers pollen in great abundance for a hard working family of bees feeding their young. The dandelion offers nectar too in abundance.

For the bees, dandelions are not the most supreme source of nutritious pollen and nectar, but they are there during times of drought and rain, scarcity and transition, reliable as long as we support their growth to the benefit of all bees.

The event featured a beautiful poster designed by Amy Sager.