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See all the delicious apples, tomatoes and summer squash at the farmers' market? Bees make it all possible, but they're having a tough time. So Seacoast Growers Association is celebrating bees and their excellent work at the Durham and Exeter Farmers' Markets. (Click title to read more) 

Bee Appreciation Day at the Durham Farmers' Market takes place onMonday, June 23 from2:15-6pmin the parking lot behind the Town Office Building. Special guest Carol Tuveson from the Durham Agricultural Commission will be setting up a portable hive to give market visitors a closer look at our local honey bees.

"The observation hive is about 2 feet long," she describes,  "with frames of bees in the bottom out of sight, and one frame of bees in the top 'story' behind plexiglas that can be observed."  It is a closed hive with the bees secured inside, giving curious viewers the incredible opportunity to get as close as they want to these fascinating insects.

"What people will see is a bee colony bustling around, moving from the top to the bottom," says Tuveson. 

Next, Bee Appreciation Day at the Exeter Farmers' Market takes place onThursday, June 26 from2:15-6pmalong the Swasey Parkway. This time, regular vendor Coombs Farm will bring an empty hive to explore. Market visitors can see what it's really like inside those familiar, drawer-like white boxes full of honeycomb. Victory Bees will be at market selling local honey and honeycomb, ready to answer all kinds of bee questions.

"We're also hosting a Pollinator Photo Contest," explains SGA Market Manager Krysti Battistelli, "because it isn't just the honey bees doing all the pollinating!" Battistelli encourages market patrons to take photos of bees and other pollinators (think ants, moths and even hummingbirds) and post them on the Durham and Exeter Market Facebook pages. All photos submitted byJune 22 will be displayed at the SGA market booth during each Bee Appreciation Day, and the public will be able to vote on their favorite. The winning entry will receive $10 in Market Money gift certificates.

For more information on the markets, Bee Appreciation Day, and links to the market Facebook pages, visit www.seacoastgrowers.org. The Seacoast Growers Association is a NH nonprofit membership organization that manages five outdoor farmers' markets in Durham, Dover, Exeter and Portsmouth.