Fun activities for all ages will be offered Saturday in Gold Park to raise awareness about Hillsborough’s native bees.
The event starts at 10 a.m. with the unveiling of Wood Carver David Hinkle’s large, artistic “bee hotel,” which will be located adjacent to the Gold Park pollinator garden along the Riverwalk greenway. The functional art piece was commissioned through a partnership with the Orange County Arts Commission, Hillsborough Tourism Development Authority and Town of Hillsborough.
Following the unveiling, Noah Mace, a West Hillsborough resident and contractor, will lead a free workshop for people to make their own small habitats for native bees with help from volunteers from the Hillsborough Arts Council, Hillsborough Garden Club and Hillsborough Tree Board. Makers can take their “bee houses” home or donate them to the town to be hung along Riverwalk. The workshops will take place until noon. There will also be a bee-themed children’s craft, temporary bee tattoos, and free sample sticks of honey. Materials for the bee houses were donated by Cates Sawmill and Mace Construction Inc.
As part of Hillsborough’s Bee City USA designation, the town must provide educational opportunities to teach others about the importance of bees as pollinators. The Hillsborough Tree Board led the effort last year for the town to become the country’s 35th Bee City.
The pollinator garden is maintained by the Orange County Master Gardener Program, a program of the Orange County Center of the N.C. Cooperative Extension. It recently was expanded to include the bee hotel. Gold Park is located at 415 Dimmocks Mill Road, and the garden is located by the train trestle bridge.
