What You Can Do for Honeybee Awareness Day

August 11, 2020
Honey Bee
National Honeybee Awareness Day is on August 15th this year, which means it’s time to remind everyone of those cute little pollinators that are so important to our ecosystem! If you have been wondering how you can play a part in saving the bees this year, and every year, here are some helpful tips to get you started.

Feed the Bees

To get more honeybees doing what they are supposed to in your hometown, you can provide them with lots of good, safe food and water! Make sure to support those who are making an effort to be safe and mindful of the bees.

Bee Gardens

The great thing about bee gardens is that you can plant them wherever you are: apartment balcony, community garden, or your backyard garden — plant pollen-producing flowers like pansies, peonies, or lavender. The more local plants you use, the better, as bees in your area thrive more off the plants they are already used to in your area. Use organic soil and avoid using harmful chemicals and pesticides; these will kill the bees!

If you have a larger yard to plant on, you can also plant flowering trees. Tree blossoms provide a vast food source for the bees and are especially useful if you have a large population around your home.

Drinking Fountains

Bees need a safe place to stop and get a drink of water, too. There are all kinds of cute bee drinking fountain ideas out there, and they are effortless to make. You can fill a dish with water, then toss in stones, sticks, cork, or anything that would be safe for bees to land on to get a sip. Without something to land on, bees will probably drown in the water.

Buy Local and Organic

Supporting your local organic farmers and buying from the farmer’s market in your area is an excellent way to promote farms that do not use harmful pesticides. The most widely used pesticides also kill bees, which is a significant problem for food production. Any little bit of encouragement to stop the use of those nasty pesticides helps!

Give Them a Home

How do you get thriving bee colonies to stay? Well, you build nice homes and nice places to stay, of course! Depending on the bee species you have in your area, you can use several different strategies to help the bees set up camp.

Build a Bee Hotel

One of the biggest reasons bee populations are dwindling is the loss of habitats. We can combat this by providing bee hotels along with our gardens to encourage solitary species to stay. These can be simple to make, like a coffee can filled with small tubes or anything that has a lot of nooks and crannies to nest in. You can find plenty of ideas to make a more complicated piece to match your garden or just some basic hotels made from items you may have lying around.

Allot Some Land

If you are someone with a large backyard or plentiful acres of land, then one of the best things you can do for the bees is allotting a section of an undisturbed area for them to use. Many bees make their homes on untouched land. This is an excellent option if you have the space to do it. You can place the hotels you made in this space, so they stay around for a while.

Support Your Local Beekeepers

Buying from your local beekeepers can help in multiple ways. When you buy directly from the source, you can ensure that these bee farms are using ethical practices to care for their bees. On top of that, buying from local farmers ensures that the profits go directly to their farm rather than through big-name grocery stores.

Local Honey

Local honey is a great buy and should be purchased from the beekeepers directly. Honey from an everyday grocery store is usually processed, contains extra additives, and often does not provide much profit to the bee farms that made it. Fresh, local honey is not only beneficial to the economy but also your health. Local honey is thought to help combat seasonal allergies since the bees that make it has processed the pollen for you.

Beeswax Products

In addition to honey, some bee farms make all kinds of great beeswax products. These can include soaps, candles, skincare, and more. Using these products help make sure that ethical bee farms can stay open, keep saving the bees, and providing you with organic beeswax products.

Be Active, Tell Your Friends

Once you have tried all these options and maybe even mastered them, go out and tell everyone you know why Honeybee Awareness Day is so important!

Post Your Support

Social media is probably the best and most versatile way to broadcast your support for a cause. Use your platforms to share information with your followers and follow organizations that are making an effort to save the bees. You can use social media to keep yourself and others up to date on events and opportunities to help your bee community.

Raise Some Funds

If you feel so inclined, you can also start your fundraiser to donate to organizations that help this cause. Facebook, for example, makes this super easy. You can post a fundraiser for a specific organization with a goal amount on your page, and your friends can contribute any amount they like. If the opportunity arises, do not hesitate to throw a fundraiser party, too. Invite your friends to the lovely bee garden that you have created and help fund the saving of the bees.
Thank you for 15,000 meals donated by Golden Harvest on a red background/
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At Busby's Heating & Air Conditioning, we believe caring for our community goes beyond the comfort of your home. Through our Busby's Cares Feeding Families initiative, we're proud to have helped provide 15,000 meals to individuals and families across the CSRA so far in 2026! In partnership with Golden Harvest Food Bank, Busby's Cares donates 25 meals for every HVAC checkup completed as part of this initiative. That means every checkup helps homeowners care for their heating and cooling systems while also helping put food on the table for local families in need. Golden Harvest food bank works with community partners to provide food and hunger-relief resources throughout Georgia and South Carolina. We're honored to support its mission and contribute to the important work being done to fight food insecurity in our region. Reaching 15,000 meals wouldn't be possible without the customers who choose Busby's for their home comfort needs. Thank you for helping us make a difference! We're excited to keep building on this progress throughout the rest of 2026. Together, we're feeding families one checkup at a time.
Group in pink shirts posing with Buzz the bee mascot at an outdoor event.
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At Busby's, caring for our community means showing up for causes that touch the lives of our neighbors and our team members. This October, our team brought that commitment to the Miracle Mile Breast Cancer Walk, supporting the important work of Piedmont Augusta Foundation and it's efforts to improve access to breast cancer screenings throughout the CSRA. The Miracle Mile Walk brings community members together to honor survivors, remember loved ones, support those facing breast cancer, and help fund lifesaving screenings. Proceeds from the event stay in the local community and support services through Piedmont Augusta's Randy W. Cooper, M.D., Center for Breast Health Services and its Mobile Mammography Unit. These resources help provide mammograms and other breast health screenings to women in the region, regardless of their ability to pay. Our team, Busby’s Boo Bee Bunch, was proud to participate in this year’s walk and raise over $2,000 for the cause. We're incredibly grateful to everyone who donated, supported our team, and helped us reach this milestone. To learn more about the Miracle Mile Walk, visit themiraclemilewalk.org
Busby's staff at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at their new Evans, GA location.
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Newspaper article - A Tradition of Trading Up: The History Behind Busby's Trade-In Days
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From a small heating business in 1945 to a trade-in program that has spanned generations, Busby's has always believed that home comfort should be within reach. Long before energy efficient heating and cooling systems, smart thermostats, and modern HVAC technology became part of everyday life, J.C. Busby understood something that still holds true today: every family deserves a comfortable home, and upgrading their heating and air conditioning should be an attainable goal. That belief helped shape the early years of Busby's Heating & Air Conditioning and eventually inspired a tradition that continues today - Busby's Trade-In Days. The story of Busby's began in 1945 and from the beginning, the business focused on helping homeowners improve their everyday lives through dependable products, practical solutions, and honest service. Those principles would soon become the foundation for one of J.C. Busby's most recognizable marketing ideas. A page from Busby's history, originally published in the Coleman Bonded Line Bulletin in 1962.
Classroom children raise hands while an instructor reads at Christian Learning Centers of Augusta
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Every student deserves opportunities to learn, grow, and develop a strong foundation for the future. In September, Busby's Cares was pleased to support Christian Learning Centers of Augusta, a nonprofit providing biblical education opportunities for public school students in Richmond County. Through its Released Time Bible Education program, Christian Learning Centers of Augusta partners with parents, public schools, churches, and volunteers to provide off-campus Bible instruction. During the 2025-2026 school year, the organization served more than 800 students across eight schools. Through our September Busby's Cares donation matching campaign, we helped amplify the community donations in support of Christian Learning Centers of Augusta and its educational mission. We’re grateful to everyone who contributed, shared the campaign, or helped spread the word. Community support helps organizations continue creating opportunities for students and strengthen the families and neighborhoods around them. To learn more about Christian Learning Centers of Augusta and its programs, visit clcaugusta.com
Bob Larkin
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It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Bob Larkin, former President of Busby's Heating & Air. For our owner, Rick Busby, Bob was much more than a former President and business partner. He was a mentor, brother-in-law, lifelong friend, and an important part of his life from childhood through the years they spent building Busby's together. In Rick's words: "My first memory of Bob Larkin goes back to my childhood. Bob took me squirrel hunting, gathering spring lizards for us to go fishing, frog gigging, and many other outdoor excursions. As a mentor, Bob taught me more about design and engineering than I think I could have learned anywhere else. He proved to be an invaluable source of knowledge, and he held a young college kid to standards that helped shape my character and work ethic. I owe him a lot. Bob was so much more than a brother-in-law and business mentor and partner. He was my friend. We had many, many hunting and fishing experiences over the years, and Bob always looked out for me. He was a tough guy with a big heart and he will be greatly missed." Bob's influence on Busby's and the people around him will not be forgotten. We are grateful for the years of leadership, wisdom, friendship, and memories he leaves behind. Our thoughts and condolences are with Bob's family, friends, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. https://www.augustachronicle.com/obituaries/robert-milton-bob-larkin
Christ Community Health logo over collage of smiling healthcare staff and patients in a clinic setting
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2026 Community's Choice Award Winner
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We are incredibly honored to announce that Busby's Heating & Air has been voted the 2026 Cyber City's Best Heating & A/C Company! This recognition means so much to our entire team because it comes directly from our customers and the communities we have proudly served for more than 80 years. Every service call, maintenance visit, installation, and customer interaction is an opportunity for us to earn your trust. Being named Cyber City's Best is a reflection of the dedication our entire team brings to work every single day, and we couldn't be more grateful. Representing Busby's at this year's Cyber City's Best Awards Gala was our Sales & Talent Development Manager, Jeff Asselin, who proudly accepted the award on behalf of our entire team. While Jeff had the honor of accepting the recognition on stage, this award belongs to every member of the Busby's family, from our customer service representatives and dispatchers to our installers, service and maintenance technicians, warehouse staff, and support team. Their commitment to excellence is what makes achievements like this possible. Most importantly, this award belongs to our customers. Thank you for inviting us into your homes, trusting us with your comfort, recommending us to your friends and family, and taking the time to vote for us. Your support allows us to continue providing dependable heating and cooling solutions with honesty, integrity, and exceptional customer service. From all of us at Busby's Heating & Air, thank you for voting us Cyber City's Best Heating & A/C Company for 2026. We look forward to continuing to earn your trust and keeping you comfortable for many years to come.
Rick Busby with Morgan Thomas of Garden City Gospel Mission presenting a check.
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A safe place to sleep, a warm meal, and someone willing to offer support can be important first steps toward a new beginning. In July, Busby’s Cares was proud to support Garden City Gospel Mission, an Augusta organization serving men experiencing homelessness and helping individuals work toward lasting change.  Garden City Gospel Mission provides emergency shelter and daily meals, along with spiritual encouragement and opportunities for longer-term recovery. Through its residential addiction recovery and discipleship program, the mission helps participants pursue healthier lives, greater stability, and a path toward independence. As part of our July Busby’s Cares campaign, we invited community members to join us in supporting Garden City Gospel Mission through a donation matching effort. Busby’s Cares board member and Customer Service Representative, Morgan Thomas, along with Busby’s owner, Rick Busby, had the privilege of presenting the $2,000 check to Garden City Gospel Mission and bringing their July donations to over $5,000. We appreciate everyone who helped support this campaign and whose generosity helped to provide critical support to the mission’s work of offering shelter, meals, hope, and a path forward for those in need. To learn more about Garden City Gospel Mission and its services, visit gardencitygospelmission.org
McDonald House Charities of Augusta, GA
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Busby's Care's is supporting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Augusta, GA.