Garden Awards

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Franklin County Beekeepers Association

Since 2017, each year in spring, the Franklin County Beekeepers Association (FCBA) presents their “Bee Spaces” Garden Awards. “Bee Space” is the precise gap within a hive or natural nest that bees create so they can freely move about. This award celebrates gardens and gardeners honoring the memory of Reverend Lorenzo Langstroth, “Father of American Beekeeping,” and discoverer of Bee Space. Langstroth was pastor in the 1840’s at Second Congregational Church in Greenfield, MA, and did much of his writing and observation of bees while living in Franklin County.

FCBA judges and awards gardens in categories such as residential, farm, public, school, and commercial. Gardens must meet the criteria of supporting pollinator health, including no pesticides or toxins, and planting of bee-foraging flowers and pollinating plants in the local landscape. The award itself consists of a beautiful ceramic and wood custom plaque, suitable for mounting outdoors. Designed by artist Molly Cantor, and framed by beekeeper John Piepul, both residents of Shelburne Falls, the plaque is a symbol of concern for our endangered pollinators. Applications for entry in the Bee Spaces Garden Awards are accepted throughout the year by the Franklin County Beekeeper’s Association.

Bee Space Garden Award Application

In 2017 the Franklin County Beekeepers Association inaugurated its annual “Bee Space” Garden Award as a way of identifying and celebrating pollinator gardens around Franklin County. This award honors Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth, considered the founder of modern beekeeping, who in the mid-1840s was pastor at the Second Congregational Church in Greenfield, MA.

FCBA welcomes your entry in our Bee Spaces Garden Award contest. The application process is now open for next spring. Gardens should be located in either Franklin or Hampshire Counties. Judging will go on throughout the spring and summer months, so please include the best time for our judges to review your pollinator garden. We will contact you and arrange a convenient time to visit.

The Bee Space Garden Award is a beautiful custom ceramic and wood plaque, meant to be displayed on the front of your home or business, to show your concern for our pollinators.