This April will mark 35 years that Assistant Chief of Police Jeff Abeln has been serving the Collierville community as a police officer. While his longtime commitment to the Town and its residents is worthy of many awards and accolades, it was his hobby of beekeeping that won him a recent award from the Collierville Environmental Commission.
On February 8th during the monthly CEC meeting, Vice Chairman Paul Brister presented Chief Abeln with a Certificate of Recognition for his contribution to the environment. Abeln is a certified Advance Master Beekeeper who currently has fifteen colonies and two different apiaries.
“I’ve always been an avid gardener. I noticed over the years that there was a decrease in the number of honeybees pollinating our flowers and vegetables. I visited a farm near Rossville where the farmer was using bees to help with pollination. I was immediately fascinated in the short time I spent watching his bees come and go. That day I decided that raising my own honeybees may have a direct impact on our gardens. I enrolled in the first beekeeping class in 2013 and have continued to learn all I can to help protect and take care of my bees,” Abeln said of his introduction to beekeeping.
Known as the unofficial Town beekeeper, Abeln has been busy as a bee relocating bee swarms around the area. He once relocated a swarm the size of a basketball from a crepe myrtle tree in a neighborhood off Shea Road. His services have been utilized by Collierville Animal Services and Public Services. Once he finds the hive, Abeln will relocate it to his property or that of other local beekeepers. To prevent swarms from forming in unwanted areas such as local businesses and personal residences, Abeln sets up bait traps in Town to try and catch the swarm before they form in an unwelcome place. Chief Abeln encourages residents that have a swarm at their house to not do anything to harm the hive. They can instead call the Collierville Police Department non-emergency line at 901-457-2500.
The Collierville Environmental Commission’s purpose is to advise the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and Town administration on environmental issues. The committee also provides the residents of Collierville with environmental education and opportunities to improve the quality of their environment. The committee is made up of people from the Collierville community that are appointed by the Board of Mayor and Alderman each fall.
