Hometown: Rolla, Mo.
County: Phelps
In Town: Charlotte is one of those exceptional individuals who have thoroughly combined both her professional life and her agriculture pursuits over the years. She served with the US Forest Service from 1990 to 2015 as a Public Affairs Director for Mark Twain Forest.
“This is a natural resource agency so that means a lot of time spent interfacing with community groups, sharing about everything from camping in the national forest to general information of use to neighboring farmers.”
Meanwhile, Charlotte’s own personal activities have focused on beekeeping which has led her to write two books on the subject. She did her first one, Bee Club Basics as a help to the Beekeepers Association to assist their members in establishing clubs in various areas. Afterwards, her second book The Beekeeper’s Diary is designed to help beginning beekeepers better understand the tiny creatures.
In the Country: In 2010, Charlotte saw an ad advertising bees and thought that might be interesting.
“Instead, I fell in love,” she continued. “They are fascinating creatures and when I put a couple of hives out by my fruit trees, I suddenly had fruit on my trees!”
She was already a Master Gardener and has gone on to become a Master Beekeeper.
“People don’t realize that one out of every three bites of food is pollination dependent and that mean bees, butterflies and other pollinators. We’re talking about all kinds of colors and pollen. Seeing life from a bee’s perspective changes everything. Human beings, for instance, are very individual-oriented meaning everything is about the individual person’s perspectives. Bees, on the other hand, are all about the colony-their culture. It’s really exciting to watch the entire process.”
Charlotte is preparing to complete her next book, Bees Need Flowers, focusing on native bees, the cultivation of native plants, and the concept of how bees and plants get along. She has Bluebird Gardens Apiary in Rolla near her home where she has her six hives. She has plans to expand that to nine in the future. She also has a teaching apiary where those with an interest in beekeeping can actually come and climb into a bee suit and get a real taste of the beekeeper’s life before getting seriously involved.
“Beekeeping is not inexpensive,” she concluded, “so people need a way to check it out a bit before they spend a lot of money.”
Charlotte says her neighbors don’t seem to mind that she keeps bees in their neighborhood. They are further charmed by the fact that she offers honey in miniature antique jars at holiday time, sharing the joy she has found in honey and the bees that make it.
