The past twenty four hours have been a whirlwind. I woke up at 3am yesterday and caught a 6am flight out of Boston to Seattle.
The flight was ok. Just a little turbulence from North Dakota straight through to Seattle. They mentioned something about storm fronts and mountains causing some type of pressure or something.
I just popped a valium. Problem solved.
Upon arrival in Seattle, I immediately zipped over to my first event which was the Pollinator Picnic sponsored by Whole Foods at the Washington Arboretum.
If you ever get a chance to visit Seattle and if you love the whole flora thing, do visit the Washington Arboretum. It was spectacular.
Clearly, the point of the Pollinator Picnic was to learn about bees. And the funniest thing about this, is that I just went to an event locally to learn all about bees. I figured I better pay better attention, because clearly someone up above wanted to drive a point home.
At the event in my hometown we watched the sobering movie Queen of the Sun, which talks about the collapse of the honey bee colonies and how it’s adversely affecting our agriculture.
I was so moved by the movie. Bees have always been just an annoyance to me. Our yard is full of them due to our lilac bushes and other bee beloved plants, and we always have to worry about them buzzing around us.
Swatting them with a fly swatter meant very little to me. One less bee means one less sting. Or so I thought.
Now I better understand the role that bees play in our lives. Bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat.
If bees were no longer pollinating plants, we would no longer have foods such as kiwi, turnips, melons, herbs, peaches, most berries, cashews, almonds and avocados. Just to name a select few.
Tragically, bees are dying off at a scary rate. In 1974 there were 4.8 million hives. Today there are only 2 million.
Pesticides and mono agriculture are cited as the two biggest culprits to the the demise of the honey bees. But even the big agro businesses are becoming concerned with the collapse of the honey bee colonies.
Without them, they have no crops. So this is an issue that needs to be addressed before it’s too late.
Besides being responsible for a third of the food we eat, bees provide us another wonderful gift. Honey.
Honey has so many wonderful things to offer. From what I’ve read and heard (I’m no doctor, so keep that in mind), honey has been reported to help coughs, may help people with allergies, heals wounds, and works as an anti-fungus.
And it tastes good. I had the opportunity to try a variety of raw honeys and was surprised by how different honey tastes depending on the region and which plants the bees visited.
Keep in mind that children under the age of one should not consume honey due to botulism.
Whole Foods is also concerned by the collapse of the honey bees. As they should be considering that they are a grocer. All grocers should be concerned by this. Without the bees, there is no food to sell.
From June 13th through the 26th, Whole Foods is offering activities that highlight this situation through their Share The Buzz events across the country.
Some locations wil be showing the movie Queen of the Sun, and offering activities that explain bee keeping, how the hives function, and their role in our lives and agriculture. And it’s free.
If you have a Whole Foods in your area, I’d suggest checking it out. It might make you think twice before squishing the next honey bee you see buzzing around your hot dogs and potato salad.
While at the Pollinator Picnic, I had the opportunity to walk into their apiary to visit the hives. I was a little nervous, but the beekeeper explained that bees are very different from yellow jackets, and not aggressive by nature.
I got up close and personal with the bees and they paid me no attention whatsoever.
One of the tips they offered us was to plant bee friendly plants in our own yards. You don’t have to start a colony and buy a smoker to make a difference.
I’m hopeful that businesses and farmers are now aware that the collapse of the bee colonies is an issue that needs to be addressed right now. And hopefully this post will help spread that word so that you and I can make small differences where we can.
How about you? Were you aware of this issue? Is honey part of your diet?
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Great post on a very important issue Melanie! I am just learning about this crisis and am just now starting to figure out what I can do to help or at least not be part of the problem! I am looking forward to hearing from everybody else on resources and suggestions. Thank you for bringing this to our attention; I had no idea the problem was this severe.
By the way; very happy you made it to Seattle safely in spite of the turbulence. Again!?!
Oh yes, we had hella storms over here yesterday. (I’m in that South Dakota place, but it went all the way up to Canada.) Golf ball sized hail and all!
I would love to have hives on my property. Now, I don’t want to actually have to take care of them, but I’d gladly let someone put some there in exchange for free honey on a regular basis. Unfortunately the major selling point, a huge field of clover, my husband has now started mowing regularly. Drat!
Glad you had an uneventful flight and a wonderful day at the arboretum. I’m highly envious! No Whole Foods within 500 miles of me (I guess they think the Dakotas aren’t posh enough) so I’m adding the movie to my netflix queue!
I knew about the crisis and that’s why I was so interested in seeing the movie! I can see you planting more bee friendly plants now
And making some delicious things with honey!
while in seattle..dont forget to visit pikes market…alot of good things to see and buy…
A great point to be made here is to stop using weed killers. If you need to get rid of a weed(which is just a native plant)pull it up. Lawn fertilizer is another culprit. Lawns do not have to be green 24/7. I have a couple friends who have their own hives. I am too much of a chicken but I applaud their efforts.
I bought chickens to raise and they are great pest control. If your community allows it, get a couple chickens. Fresh eggs are the best!
How did you learn to take pictures? I LOVE your pictures. I really like the last one here – and one a few weeks ago from the pool where the fire was all fuzzy.
honey is also a good home remedy for heartburn!
YAY… you’re in Seattle, my town.
You have to visit Space Needle & Pike Place Market while you’re here
My father in law is a bee keeper and Honey is a big part of our diet. Kids love it, hubby uses it instead of sugar even in his coffee.
Estera- WA
I’ve been aware of the bee problem for some time. When we bought our house, I put in a huge flower garden with bee-friendly plants. We never use pesticides but hand pick the bugs instead, and put out beer to attract the slugs away from the plants.
As a child, I had terrible allergies, and part of my diet was local honey, bought in the comb. My Mom would heat it up a little in the oven and give it to me. Helped immensely; still use it to this day.
Honey will keep indefinitely, too. Archeologists have found honey in tombs of the Pharoahs that was still edible. Those smart bees sure know how to produce a quality product.
Please do everything you can to help the bees.
Thanks, Melanie, for helping to make people aware of this problem. Enjoy your trip; Seattle is a wonderful place to visit.
I recently watched “Vanishing of the Bees” and it is scary to hear what is happening with the bee population. I am so glad that companies like Whole Foods are getting involved with making people aware of the issue.
Yes, I have been aware of the bee problem. I believe Monsanto is to blame. So do many other people and entities.
I buy local honey from a friend. It tastes like flowers smell, best tasting honey I have ever had. My favorite way to eat honey is stirred with pb and eaten in a sandwich…yum, and with a glass of milk.
If we flew together, we could pop valium together. A 10 mg would hold me for the whole trip. I got a bit woozy just reading you flew from Boston to Seattle.
I am also concerned about the bee problem, and have been for some time.
I work in the City of San Francisco. There is a local volunteer group that maintains small hives on the roofs of urban buildings. They install the hives and check on them regularly. We have one on our roof and it’s pretty interesting to watch them coming and going. Most urban areas don’t have natural hives because of the large buildings and because cities usually remove hives from trees on the streets. If some of your readers live or work in urban areas, they may want to check to see if they can find a similar organization within their city.
We love honey here! Don’t have a Whole Foods near us
but it’s very interesting to hear about this situation. We’ve got an extensive garden in our backyard, hubby & I have both noted that we have *more* bees and butterflies this year than we’ve seen in a long time.
Amazing information. I want to go see the movie! We had a hive in our backyard when I was growing up, courtesy of our neighbor, who was a beekeeper. The bees never bothered me! Got stung one time in 10 years.
Can’t wait to get a hold of that movie. This is an issue I have been researching closely for years in school. And I love, love, love honey!! I eat some daily to help with my allergies and will put it on just about anything. My favorite is peanut butter and honey toast