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As a recent visitor to Oahu, I was able to witness something worth noting. The Kalama Beach Club, which is on the registry of Hawaii historic places, was faced with taking down a 100-year-old rotting tree. Within the very center of the ironwood’s six-foot girth was a colony of honeybees.
Over a two-day period I watched the cutting of the tree and safe removal of the bees by Max Towey, an island beekeeper and a member of the Hawaii Beekeepers’ Association.
Why is this worth noting?
Because it started with the decision of the Kalama Beach Club board of directors wanting to save the bees (rather than destroying them with a chemical biocide) and the precision cutting of the Hele Mai tree company, which allowed Towey to reach in and pull the bees out over several hours.
Good decision-making, with all the players working together, saved another colony of your very unique island pollinators.
Bruce D. Vilders
Mount Vernon, Wash.
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