- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The event, themed "The Bounty of Pollination, More Than Just Honey," will take place from 1 to 5:30 p.m. in the RMI's Silverado Vineyards Sensory Theatre, UC Davis. Keynote speakers are winning cinematographer, director and producer Louie Schwartzberg whose film “The Beauty of Pollination” has resulted in more than 23 million views on YouTube; and pollination ecologist Neal Williams, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology, who will discuss “Integrated Pollination Strategies: Managed and Wild Bees for a Sustainable Future."
Others speaking will include:
Amina Harris, executive director of the RMI Honey and Pollination Center and owner of Z Specialty Food, Woodland, who will cover “Honey Tastings Across America”
--Victoria Wojcik, associate program manager of the San Francisco-based Pollinator Partnership, “The World of Pollinators”
--Julie Loke, teaching kitchen educator at Davis Co-Op, “Varietal Honeys—Blending the Flavors in the Kitchen”
Another attraction is the second annual "Best Honey" competition. Beekeepers can enter the competition by bringing a jar of honey (with business card and summary of the honey) to the RMI office on Wednesday, Oct. 24. There's no charge to enter. Those attending the conference will taste and judge the honey.
RMI executive director Clare Hasler-Lewis said the newly established Honey and Pollination, was approved earlier this year by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The vision is to “make UC Davis the nation’s leading authority on honey, honey bees and pollination by combining the resources and expertise of RMI and the Department of Entomology’s Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.”
The center’s mission is “to showcase the importance of honey and pollination to the well-being of the citizens of California. The center will spearhead and nucleate efforts to gain support and assembly teams for research, education and outreach programs for various stakeholder groups including the beekeeping industry, agricultural interests who depend on bee pollination, backyard beekeepers and the food industry."
The goals:
• Expand research and education concerning nutrition, health, quality and appreciation of honey
• Develop useful information for California’s agricultural bounty that depends on insect pollination
• Help the honey industry establish labeling guidelines to guarantee pure and unadulterated varietal honey
• Coordinate a multidisciplinary team of experts in honey production, pollination and bee health
• Promote the use of locally procured honey in the home, food industry and restaurants.
For more information on the debut event and to register online see the RMI website The contact person is Kim Bannister at kbannister@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you want to learn more about bees, honey and pollination, then you'll want to attend the debut event of the newly formed Honey and Pollination Center at the University of California, Davis.
Themed "Bounty of Pollination: More Than Just Honey," the event is set from 1 to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27 in the Silverado Vineyards Sensory Theater at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science (RMI).
It's “an afternoon of lively discussions, unique tastings and interesting displays on the science behind honey and non-honeybee pollinators,” says RMI spokesperson Tracy Dickinson.
Clare Hasler-Lewis, executive director of RMI, and Ed Lewis, vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and faculty director of the Honey and Pollination Center, will welcome the crowd.
Among the speakers will be Amina Harris, owner of Z Specialty Foods, Woodland; Rebecca Ets-Hokin of the San Francisco Bay Area, certified culinary professional, who will discuss “Varietal Honeys—Blending the Flavors in the Kitchen”; and Neal Williams, UC Davis assistant professor of entomology, whose topic is “Integrated Pollination Strategies: Managed and Wild Bees for a Sustainable Future.”
Also planned is a best honey competition, a Pollinator Partnership activity, and a reception that will include tastings and best honey competition results.
The cost is $60 per person, with special discounts for UC faculty, staff and students.
Folks attending will definitely walk away with a greater appreciation of honey bees and wild bees.
And a greater appreciation of one of nature's most treasured treats--honey.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you want to learn more about honey bees and other pollinators, then “The Bounty of Pollination: More Than Just Honey” is the place to “bee” on Saturday, Oct 27 at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science (RMI), University of California, Davis.
This will be the "debut event" of the Honey and Pollination Center of RMI, according to event coordinator Tracy Dickinson.
The public event, to take place from 1 to 5:30 p.m. in RMI's Silverado Vineyards Sensory Theater, is billed as “an afternoon of lively discusssions, unique tastings and interesting displays on the science behind honey and the important (and surprising) non-honey bee pollinators."
RMI is in the process of lining up speakers and displays.
Registration opens in August. The cost per ticket is $60, with discount prices offered for UC faculty, staff and students. The last day to register online is Friday, Oct. 26.
UC faculty staff and students may obtain a coupon code for discounted tickets through tdickinson@ucdavis.edu. Or, if folks want to become a Friend of the RMI, they need to contact Kim Bannister at kbannister@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Did you know that honey bees visit more than two million flowers just to make a pound of honey?
Two million visits for one pound?
That's just one of the tidbits about honey that will be mentioned Friday, Oct. 21 at the all-day “Honey!” event at the UC Davis Conference Center, 550 Alumni Center.
And bees?
"How can the 60,000-some bees in a hive live in such a chaotic environment, divide up the jobs, do them well, and get everything done?" asks Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology.
He'll tell you at the "Honey!" event.
This one-of-a-kind event, sponsored by the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis, will take place from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Co-sponsored by the UC Davis Department of Entomology, the event will include six experts discussing honey-related topics, a honey-themed lunch, and honey and mead tasting. In addition, displays will feature a bee observation hive by Brian Fishback of Wilton and beekeeping equipment from the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis.
Among the speakers will be three bee scientists from the UC Davis Department of Entomology: Extension apiculturst Eric Mussen speaking on “The Wonder of Honey Bees”; assistant professor Brian Johnson, “How Bees Cooperate to Make Honey and What They Do With It”; and emeritus professor Norm Gary, discussing “Hobby Beekeeping in Urban Environments.”
Other UC Davis speakers: Louis Grivetti, professor emeritus, Department of Nutrition, discussing “Historical Uses of Honey as Food” and Liz Applegate, professor, Department of Nutrition and director of Sports Nutrition Program, “Sweet Success—Honey for Better Health and Performance.”
The program will begin at 9 a.m. light refreshments, served until 10 a.m. Speakers, lunch, more speakers, honey tasting, and mead tasting will follow. The event ends with a refreshment reception at which Norm Gary will sign and sell his recently published book on backyard beekeeping.
Coordinating it all is Clare Hasler-Lewis, executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.
If you're like to attend, you'll want to make reservations now. The deadline to make reservations is Friday, Oct. 14. Recently reduced costs are $50 for the general public and for folks with connections to the beekeeping industry; $35 for UC faculty members, staff and Friends of the RMI; and $25 for students.
To reserve your space, you can contact Kim Bannister at kbannister@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-5171. Payments may be made online at http://robertmondaviinstitute.ucdavis.edu/honey.
And while we're at it, let's thank the bees!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Honey!
That very word summons a smile.
A public celebration--appropriately titled “Honey!”--will take place Friday, Oct. 21 in the UC Davis Conference Center.
Save the date!
The event, sponsored by the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, will include tastings and a honey-focused lunch.
“Bees play a crucial role on our planet from pollinating to honey creation,” said Clare Hasler-Lewis, executive director of the institute, which is affiliated with the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The public is invited to “come celebrate with us and enjoy lectures, tastings and displays on honey,” she said.
The event is scheduled to include the history of honey and its use across the ages; honey as a food incorporating honey in your diet; and honey for health, from balancing blood sugar to wound healing.
Among the UC Davis speakers:
--Liz Applegate of the UC Davis Department of Nutrition faculty. A national expert on nutrition and fitness, she will discuss the health benefits of honey.
--Brian Johnson of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty. Johnson, who specializes in the behavior, genetics and evolution of honey bees, as well as apiculture, will explore the history of honey use across the ages.
--Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. A nationally known expert on honey bees and honey, he will lead a honey tasting.
As plans progress, additional information will be posted on the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science website, Facebook and on Twitter.
Ah, sweet October!
