Scott Witte stands next to a honeybee hive in a wooded area at Cantigny Golf Club. Witte, the certified golf course superintendent at the course in Wheaton, Illinois, is unfazed while bees swarm around him and the hive. He wears no protective gear, but he does don a smile as he talks about “the strange and powerful allure” of pollinating critters.
“This is a passion of mine,” says Witte, who is in his 22nd year as the club’s superintendent. “It’s something I’ve become smitten with. Honeybees get a bad rap because yellow jackets, wasps and hornets can be so nasty. Honeybees only care about pollinating their next flowers.”
Large cracks in two northern catalpa trees on the property have become homes to feral or wild honeybee hives. Although the bees are difficult to see in this photograph, they were darting in and out of the hive. Witte placed signs near the two trees to educate golfers about the wild hives.
At Cantigny, a 27-hole public course, Witte has added “beekeeper” to his agronomic duties. He has turned Cantigny into a haven for honeybees, not just by maintaining six domesticated hives, but by introducing several acres of native prairie areas to Cantigny to attract honeybees and other pollinating insects. Witte calls his endeavor the “Bee Barometer Project.”
In late September, on one of summer’s final days, Witte provided a tour of the course to reporters to educate them on the important plight of honeybees and why native prairie areas are vital for golf courses. The event, called “Feed a Bee,” was sponsored by the Bayer Bee Care Program, which was established to find solutions to bee health challenges.
Witte showed reporters several native areas on the course that are home to honeybees and other pollinators before showcasing his hives, which he began in 2010. Later, reporters were taken to Le Jardin, a restaurant on the premises, where they participated in a cooking demonstration featuring honey from Witte’s hives that are used as an ingredient in cooking various foods.
Witte, in fact, has turned his honeybee enterprise into a revenue center to fund his environmental programs, including the operation’s status as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. Bottled honey and lip balm from Witte’s hives are sold in Cantigny’s pro shop.
Witte said that these 8 acres of prairie plants are one of his favorite places on the golf course.
Witte stands in front of the xeriscape, a style of landscape design that requires no irrigation and little maintenance, built in front of Cantigny’s golf academy building.
Witte suggested using native prairie plants for the xeriscape, including what some people might deem weeds, to attract honeybees and pollinating insects. Witte says the xeriscape provides seasonal color, something the property needed in addition to finely manicured turfgrass.
At Le Jardin, a restaurant on the Cantigny property, Executive Chef Frank Bellino uses honey from Witte’s hives in various recipes, including these lamb chops, which were marinated in the honey.
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