Grace Hubbard is a reader, researcher, nurse, nursing professor and lead faculty at UNC.

She is also a life-long learner with curiosity and delight in nature, especially in fly-fishing and

bees.

 

When Grace saw the 2019 spotlight about Buddha Bees Apiary, she was enthralled! Having the

beekeeper come out each month to check the hives meant she did not have to know everything

about beekeeping, and “there was no worry about the bees dying.” She could learn all about it

and delight in the life of bees and the hive. She got a hive that year.

 

Grace kept an incredible journal, documenting with pictures and bullet points what she learned

and observed each month. “Those first two years, if it could happen in a hive, it happened in

mine!” From mites to multiple queens, and swarming, Grace observed, asked questions, and

learned all she could.

 

Early on, she enjoyed just observing the beekeepers do the work. The more she learned, the more

she wanted to participate hands-on. “As a nurse, my orientation to build skills requires doing it

often enough with feedback to gain mastery.” But the beekeepers only visit every few weeks,

and each visit requires different skills. She realized she was not practicing enough to be

proficient in the physical process. The frames are heavy when they are full of honey or bees. It

takes lots of practice to be proficient at all the working parts. She felt discouraged.

After 6 months of handling the frames and not being efficient, her learning took an impressive

curve. “Jackson listened to my concerns and frustrations so patiently. He said, ‘The important

part about learning to manage a hive is considering what you are seeing, what it means to

you, and what are the next steps to take.’”

 

A few inspections later Grace and Alfredo were inspecting the hive. “There were lots of bees,

lots of queen caps, but we couldn’t find a queen. I reasoned out a swarm had likely occurred

even though the hive was still dripping with bees. I said, Alfredo, I think we need to split the

hive. He agreed and said, ‘Now you are thinking next steps- what’s best for the bees.’”

 

One checkup revealed no queen and a potential swarm. “I talked about that with Jackson. His

questions to me were helpful. ‘How much do you want to manipulate the lives of bees, and how

patient can you be to wait for nature to take its course?’ I didn’t want to manipulate anything. So,

I said, let’s give it a week or so and see what happens.” He agreed and returned the next week to

check again. The queen had returned, and eggs were being laid. “Pragmatically, as it relates to

the bees, patience was the best course. Let the bees do it their way and see if it’s going to work

before getting involved.”

 

On another visit, Alfredo was counting mites. “We had a newly hatched brood with so many baby bees. They are extra gentle. He poured a whole cup of baby bees in my hands, like a handful of moving M&Ms. It was the most phenomenal experience.”

 

While she had wanted to participate in the mechanics, it was the analytics -what’s best for

the bees- that was attractive. “That’s when it flipped for me. It turned the perspective and

revealed that I could enjoy this in a different way than I had imagined.”

 

Favorite lessons from the bees:

1. It’s such a validation of how much I love nature.

2. They are brilliant little individuals. It’s a mystery the way bees make decisions about how

and what they do, that instinct. That type of intelligence feels profound to me. It’s very

fulfilling to be part of it through observation.

3. It’s not about the honey. It is about the joy in the hive.