In 2021 YCBA participated in the Sentinel Apiary Program. This is a citizen scientist initiative. Seven YCBA members joined together once a month to sample for varroa and nosema in four colonies at Lynne Gobeil’s apiary. The program is part of the national, non-profit Bee Informed Partnership which uses science-based, data-driven approaches to improve the health and long-term sustainability of honey bees. The Bee Informed Partnership (BIP) is dedicated to working with beekeepers to improve colony health and increase colony survivorship, with the goal of being an early warning system to alert beekeepers of potential problems due to increases in varroa and nosema. The samples from Lynne’s apiary were sent to the University of Maryland for analysis. Results were shared with the team in about 14 days. A grant for participating in the program was provided by Maine Bee Wellness. YCBA is organizing another Sentinel Apiary in 2022 and we hope to sponsor a second one as well.