Arboretum offers chicken and bee class

The Los Angeles Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 301 North Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA 91007; call 626.821.4623 to register for this class.
www.arboretum.org

Residential bees and chickens benefit our communities in a variety of ways while providing a sustainable, healthy and fun source of food. Over the past 50 years domesticated bee populations have decreased by 50%. These animals are critical in our food production because of the pollination services they provide. Pollination by bees alone is responsible for 15-30% of the food eaten in the United States. Backyard chickens can improve the health of your yard and your family. The most obvious benefit of keeping chickens is the production of eggs. Eggs from well maintained backyard chickens are not only cheaper and more environmentally friendly, but they are actually healthier and taste better too! Chickens provide more than healthy food. They act as a natural pest control by eating insects and their droppings are rich in nitrogen, making it an excellent addition to your compost bin.

Finally, raising chickens and bees at home can help reconnect the divide that has been created between the American diet and food production.

Backyard Chickens and Bees
Saturday, May 28
10 am–Noon / Bamboo Room
$25 members/$28 non-members
John Lyons, instructor
Please call 626.821.4623 to register.

This class is an introduction to having backyard chickens and bees, and John is an expert in both! He has a flock of chickens and several hives so you will learn all the basics about both disciplines. This includes chicken varieties, housing, feeding and disease control. You will also learn about bees and their care, beehives, equipment and harvesting honey in addition to the organic care of the bee colony.

John Lyons hails from western Ireland. Raised on his family’s farm, John’s mother was a keen gardener and all five of her children are now mad gardeners – from Canberra, to Genova, to Galway, London, and Los Angeles. For a decade now, John has been immersed in California horticulture and has a particular fondness for California native plants and water-wise gardening. An avid practitioner of organic garden cultivation, he is known for both his passion and zeal which produce spectacular results.