PRESS ROOM

ROYAL OAK, Mich., 

The Belle Isle Nature Zoo will be buzzing with excitement on Saturday, August 20, 2016 for the inaugural Bee Fest in celebration of National Honey Bee Day.  The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and all activities are free.

Bee Fest will feature bee keeper talks, music, crafts, demonstrations on how to plant and maintain a bee-friendly garden, and a bee costume parade for the children.

“Honey bees are facing many serious challenges in today’s environment.  This event will be a fun way to educate the community as to what is happening with bees and how they can help,” said Belle Isle Nature Zoo Curator of Education Amy Greene.

The Belle Isle Nature Zoo features an observation beehive which provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the busy daily lives of honeybees.  Sealed tightly within a double-sided glass case, and with a tunnel providing the bees year-round access to the outdoors, the hive allows guests to watch the bees do what they do best: work.

“The work that honey bees do is more valuable than we realize,” said Greene. “Bees are the most prolific pollinators in the natural world, due in part to their fuzzy bodies and faithfulness in buzzing to and from the same species of plant for an extended period.”

Mites, viruses, diseases and pesticides are contributing to severe honey bee colony decline and death, often referred to as colony collapse disorder.  A recent survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that beekeepers across the country lost more than 40 percent of their honey bee colonies between April 2014 and April 2015.

Operated by the Detroit Zoological Society, the Belle Isle Nature Zoo sits on a 5-acre site surrounded by undisturbed forested wetlands on Belle Isle in Detroit.  The Nature Zoo provides year-round educational, recreational and environmental conservation opportunities for the community. The facility features indoor animal habitats, a bee exhibit, bird observation window, outdoor native butterfly garden and nature trail.  The Deer Encounter allows guests to feed the fallow deer while learning about their history.

The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is located at the east end of Belle Isle near the Blue Heron Lagoon.  The Nature Zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October and Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.  Admission is free; however, a State of Michigan Recreation Passport is required for personal vehicles to enter Belle Isle State Park.  For more information, visit www.detroitzoo.org.