New “bee hotels” at Harrison Park are exactly what they sound like. The wooden, hanging boxes provide shelter for bees that aren’t part of a hive.
“They are safe places for solitary bees and other insects to winter and lay their eggs, which supports pollination needs for the park environment,” said Linda Lancaster, of Friends of Harrison Park.
The bee hotels were built as a Scout project by John Carter Wilson, 16, who’s well on his way to attaining the highest rank of Eagle Scout.
Wilson, a member of Pickens County Boy Scout Troop 836, said he’s been involved with Scouting since first grade and is no stranger to bees. His dad, also named John, enjoys beekeeping as a hobby, and the family enjoys visiting the peaceful downtown Ellijay park.
“We go there about once or twice a week to walk. I just thought that would be a nice place to do (this project),” he said.
When it came time to decide on an Eagle Scout project, Wilson set out do something that would help increase the pollinator population, which, he noted, is on a rapid decline.
“This is a nice way to give these insects a place to lay their eggs and help the (pollinator) population. They can go there year-round to get shelter,” he said.
Wilson hung the five bee hotels from trees along the park’s walking trail with help from his dad and two fellow Scouts -—- his little brother, Spencer, a First Class Scout, and friend, Mitchell Rice, a Life Scout also working toward his Eagle rank.
“There are two different sections (of the boxes). They can be made of out of tons of different materials, but we used bamboo for the small holes they can go in and stay. There are also wood shavings because they like those, as well,” said Wilson about the bee hotels’ lodging accommodations.
Becoming ‘a sanctuary
for pollinators’
Lancaster said Harrison Park is becoming a sanctuary for all kinds of small creatures and pollinators.
The park’s friends are planning a wildflower meadow that will be planted on the grounds, she noted.
Bluebird nesting houses and feeders that also line the walking trail have seen much use since being put in two years ago.
“Birds love (the park). We did a spring cleaning on the bluebird boxes in March, and there are already nests with fledglings (inside),” Lancaster said.