Bradley Moore led a team of 20 people and they put in 252 hours working on his Eagle Scout project, the construction of the building and walkway at the honey bee observation hive.

The Tyler Rose Garden is a national tourist destination for the roses, museum and gift shop. On Saturday, things got a little sweeter.

A Honey Bee Observation Hive opened in the Rose Garden (near the corner of West Front St. and N. Peach Ave.) and Tyler was also named a Bee City USA destination, just one of four in Texas.

“Our mission as an affiliate is to educate and raise awareness in the community on the importance of all pollinator species, including honey bees,” said Keep Tyler Beautiful Coordinator Belen Casillas. “That’s where the vision to build the Honey Bee Observation Hive was born.”

Casillas said the honey bees were donated from Eddie Collins of CNC Honey Farms. During the winter, he will store the bees and they will return to the rose garden in the spring.

The new structure and walkway was built by Bradley Moore of Tyler who attends Cumberland Academy. During the pandemic, Moore’s quest to become an Eagle Scout was put on hold, but his project is now complete.

“I’ve been waiting a year-and-a-half for this,” Moore said. “First, we had to find a location, set up a foundation, make the structure and place all the new bricks in the walkway.”

Moore led a team of 20 people and they put in 252 hours working on his Eagle Scout project.

The box hosting the bees was built by Dick Counts and volunteers from the East Texas Beekeepers Association. Members Connie Collins, Meagan Elzner and Tish Kennedy also assisted in transferring the bees.

The observation area had special meaning for many in the large crowd who attended the opening.

“My late grandfather, Carl Edward Bruce, was called the ‘Bee Saver’ in Jacksonville,” Kelly Mroczenski said, who was at the event with her daughter, Kyndal. “Now, we are thinking of having a honey bee farm.”

Emma Jaggers was there with her daughter, Kali, because her brother is in a wildlife management program in college and is working this summer for the state.

“Kali has a garden and my brother explained the importance of honey bees so we thought we would come out and see the fun,” said Jaggers.

Tyler Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Shirley McKeller read a proclamation from the city on the importance of the Honey Bee Observation Hive and Biles also had a chance to educate the crowd on bees.