A story of Tiger Gold, River Campus honey
Did you know USN has a hive of bees living at the River Campus? With the help of the Venick and Pretorius families as well as River Campus staff, we welcomed a new colony this spring.
By Kobie Pretorius, 2019-2020 USNA President
My husband, Mias, claims that all the bad ideas I’ve ever had came from USN Evening Classes — including keeping bees. Except, in this case, my interest in saving the bees ended up becoming his favorite hobby. He is now officially the chief bee whisperer in our house.
Our humble bee experiment started at our old house in West Meade where we had lots of acres to play. Four years ago we moved closer to town, and our new proximity to neighbors had us worried about our bees. A desperate email to Director Vince Durnan resulted in our hives finding a new home in the back corner of River Campus, where they have absolutely thrived on Cumberland River water, lots of sunshine, and wildflowers.
River Campus honey is something to behold — in fact, we call it Tiger Gold. Over the years many USN teachers have received a jar of USN Tiger Gold, and we cannot keep up with popular demand. Sadly, disaster struck on March 3 as an EF2 tornado plowed through USN’s athletic fields, shredding our hives, tearing down the electronic scoreboard, damaging the solar panels, rearranging bleachers, and barely missing the tennis courts. In the bigger scheme of things, it could have been much worse, but still, our River Campus Bees were gone.
With the help of former USN parent and fellow beekeeper Irwin Venick, we managed to quickly find a new nucleus colony since you only have a very small window of time in the spring to install new bees successfully. For anyone looking for a little bit of good news right now, I am happy to say that our new little colony seems to be thriving again among the honeysuckle on the banks of the Cumberland.
We are thankful for the USN River Campus crew, who also keep an eye on our bees, even if it means they have to occasionally borrow a bee suit to do work in that corner, and to USN for offering us that little plot of land.
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My husband, Mias, claims that all the bad ideas I’ve ever had came from USN Evening Classes — including keeping bees. Except, in this case, my interest in saving the bees ended up becoming his favorite hobby. He is now officially the chief bee whisperer in our house.
Our humble bee experiment started at our old house in West Meade where we had lots of acres to play. Four years ago we moved closer to town, and our new proximity to neighbors had us worried about our bees. A desperate email to Director Vince Durnan resulted in our hives finding a new home in the back corner of River Campus, where they have absolutely thrived on Cumberland River water, lots of sunshine, and wildflowers.
River Campus honey is something to behold — in fact, we call it Tiger Gold. Over the years many USN teachers have received a jar of USN Tiger Gold, and we cannot keep up with popular demand. Sadly, disaster struck on March 3 as an EF2 tornado plowed through USN’s athletic fields, shredding our hives, tearing down the electronic scoreboard, damaging the solar panels, rearranging bleachers, and barely missing the tennis courts. In the bigger scheme of things, it could have been much worse, but still, our River Campus Bees were gone.
With the help of former USN parent and fellow beekeeper Irwin Venick, we managed to quickly find a new nucleus colony since you only have a very small window of time in the spring to install new bees successfully. For anyone looking for a little bit of good news right now, I am happy to say that our new little colony seems to be thriving again among the honeysuckle on the banks of the Cumberland.
We are thankful for the USN River Campus crew, who also keep an eye on our bees, even if it means they have to occasionally borrow a bee suit to do work in that corner, and to USN for offering us that little plot of land.
More USN News
List of 3 news stories.
-
Ava ’26 recognized by National Council of Teachers of English
Congratulations to the rising senior, who has been selected for a 2025 Achievement Award in Writing by the National Council of Teachers of English.Read More -
Retired faculty, staff return to USN
As part of a longstanding tradition, retired teachers and professionals from USN over the years came together to celebrate, connect, and reminisce during their annual luncheon in Durnan Auditorium.Read More -
Athletes beyond Edgehill
Read MoreIt is common to have five or more University School of Nashville student-athletes sign college athletic commitment letters each year, and this year, USN saw eight more student-athletes commit to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level. USN has several alumni participating in their chosen sport at the collegiate level from the Classes of 2021 through 2025. Continue reading to learn more about where Tigers are competing beyond Edgehill.
Contact
Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
USN Mission:
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.