FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2021
Media Contact:
Gina Hyams, PR Consultant
413-629-3175
[email protected]
Spencertown, New York–Spencertown Academy Arts Center, in collaboration with the Austerlitz Climate Smart Task Force, presents a talk by Sheri Bauer titled “SymBeeOtic: Embracing a Life with Bees” on Sunday, July 18 at 4:00pm via Zoom. This event is free, but advance registration is required. To register, please see www.spencertownacademy.org.
Sheri Bauer is a fourth generation beekeeper who returned home to the family apiary in Coxsackie, NY, in 2019 after the death of her father, master beekeeper Walter Bauer. Twin Spruce Apiaries was started in 1941 by Bauer’s grandfather, Wolfgang, and plans were in the works to close the farm that encompassed bee yards on the farm and in fields and mountains of Greene County.
While fellow beekeepers were packing up the last of the hives, Bauer requested that they leave three hives for her care in a field close to the house. The three hives grew to be nine hives and currently the apiary embraces 19 hives. Her two years of living with bees have opened worlds and rekindled connections to past family wisdom of beekeeping. She has formed new alliances with beekeeping clubs, studied apiary practices and philosophies, approaches to seeing and remedying the high loss of bees in NYS, and most importantly she says, learning from these ancient and wild “bee-ings.”
Bauer is a musician and some may know her in Columbia County for her performing, community song leading, and children’s chorus. She finds that musical training prepared her for working with bees. She also runs StarCatcher Herb Shop at the Apiary, bringing herbs grown on the farm (which were, of course, pollinated by bees) to her teas and cooking.
The Austerlitz Town Board Climate Committee established the Austerlitz Climate Smart Task Force in April 2020. Climate Smart Communities (CSC) is a NYS program that helps local governments take actions to adapt to a changing climate, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthen local ecosystems. CSC is sponsored by seven NYS agencies and administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
Founded in 1972, Spencertown Academy Arts Center is a cultural center and community resource serving Columbia County, the Berkshires, and the Capital region. Housed in a landmark 1847 Greek Revival schoolhouse, the Academy is located at 790 State Route 203 in Spencertown, New York. For more information, please contact [email protected].
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