Central Iowa Beekeepers Association
CIBA Members' Community Engagement
We Make a Living by What We Get, but We Make a Life by What We Give.
Winston Churchill
We believe that giving back to our community is important. As an organization, we do that by promoting the art of beekeeping and the plight of honeybees, and helping our members become better beekeepers.
Likewise, many of our members are active in their own community. They share their craft. They teach. They set up demonstration hives. They volunteer their time for others.
Here’s a peek at ways some of our members are giving back, and we thank them.
Ray and Sue Meylor
The Meylors operate Cherry Glen Learning Farm dedicated to providing education related to conservation, soil and water quality and sustainable agriculture. The 10-acre working farm has community gardens, a bee yard and building used for hands-on classes, demonstrations and other community events. Among the farm’s many partners are the Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District that has set up a watershed mitigation demonstration at the farm.
Jamie Beyer
Beyer is a volunteer legislative representative for the Iowa Honey Producers Association. He works with paid lobbyists to promote and protect honeybees in Iowa and has organized Iowa Honey Bee Day promotion at the Iowa State Capitol.
Jamie Beyer
Jamie provides community education! Jamie hosted Monroe and Des Moines homeschoolers at one of his apiaries.
The educational crew of Ann Wilbur, Linn Wilbur and Jamie provided an overview of basic honey bee information using pictures of the queen bee and various pictures inside the hive. They also reviewed the biology and the importance of habitat preservation, including the loss of bees due to overuse and misuse of pesticides. The tour also included a first-hand look inside the hive!
Linn Wilbur
When you visit the Iowa Arboretum in the Des Moines River valley near Luther, look for the beehives. There are two of them, located in a out-of-the-way spot in the 160-acre park. If you’re lucky you might see Linn Wilbur tending the apiary. He placed the hives there in 2018 to be used for education. He donates honey from the hives, which the arboretum sells in its gift shop.
See a picture of Linn with Jamie Beyer at Iowa Honey Bee Day above! Picture to the left is courtesy of Iowa Arboretum & Gardens, Madrid, Iowa.