Westford Conservation Trust Annual Meeting – November 13, 2024 @ 7PM

WCT Annual Meeting – Wednesday, November 13th, 2024 at 7 pm – PCA (Parish Center for the Arts) , Westford Center

Members and friends are invited to join us for our our Annual Trust Meeting. We will have a brief Trust business meeting followed by our guest speaker. Light refreshments will be served. Hope you can join us!

Guest Speaker – Mel Gadd, Apiarist & Drumlin Farm Beekeeper

Introduction to Honeybees: The Honeybee Adventure

Bees perform approximately 80% of all pollination worldwide and bee colonies have declined precipitously over the last few years. Maintaining a backyard beehive can help increase our local bee population which in turn will foster community pollination and support our local food supplies. This talk will help you learn about the importance of honeybees and other pollinators. Mel Gadd will talk about honeybees and beekeeping, as well as to understand the importance of all pollinators, such as native bees, in our community. For over 20 years, Mel has been involved with the Essex County Beekeepers Association (ECBA). Mel maintains 27 hives, five at schools where he works with students as the beekeepers, one at a Community Garden in Reading, four hive and 17 hives at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln, MA. In addition, Mel mentors a “Therapeutic Beekeeping Program” for veterans who have PTSD at the Bedford VA facility. Mel has been involved with using non-traditional types of hives (top bar, Warre hives, Slovinian & Valkyrie Horizontal hives) as well as the traditional Langstroth hive. As part of his work at Drumlin Farm, Mel has been conducting experiments with natural approaches to dealing with the problems of the bees and other pollinators. He also runs a Bee School through Mass Audubon teaching people on how to keep bees. Mel was named the “Beekeeper of the Year” in 2017 by the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association. Mel will bring some honey for a bit of taste testing!