For farmers and homesteaders, it just makes sense to promote the myriad of native bees on your farm. By encouraging native bees you’re effectively promoting the overall health of the ecosystem that you are responsible for as a farmer─since bees are a keystone species and their health and well-being directly impacts plants and animals all the way up the food chain. … Read more »
Over the last decade my personal mission in life has slowly evolved into one that is two-fold. One the one hand I’m dedicated to sustainability and all that word encompasses: sustainable energies and industries, sustainable living, sustainable communities─and especially sustainable food systems. On the other hand, and perhaps just a little overzealously─is the part of me which is committed to pollinator… Read more »
At 2pm on Saturday, September 24th I will be in Unity at MOFGA’s annual Common Ground Fair to give a talk Ive dubbed “Pollinator Conservation through Agriculture”. *Insert excited squeal here.* There’s a decided interest from the public in pollinators, I’m excited to be able to say. You see it in the news, in the increasing numbers of backyard-beekeepers, at… Read more »
I was invited to speak with the children participating in the Solon Summer-Rec program yesterday, so I pulled a couple of frames of bees and their Queen from a hive and put them into the observation hive and my younger son and I went off to talk about bees. Teaching folks about the importance of pollinators is one of the… Read more »
By now it’s fairly common knowledge that bees and pollinators are in trouble. The media has spread the word of Colony Collapse Disorder and the vanishing bees far and wide; it’s been in the news, in magazines, all over social media, there are several movies, and there are spokespeople who give talks to educate the population. We know now that CCD… Read more »
Until recently, native and feral bee populations met all of a farmers’ pollination needs. Farms were smaller, and closer to natural areas where native bee populations could easily recolonize a farm should an insecticide application kill resident bees. But with the advent of the industrial farm, habitat for pollinators has been drastically reduced─today, many of our agricultural landscapes are vast… Read more »
Because I love bees and because the act of pollination fascinates me so–it saddens me to think that all too often this crucial event and the animals that make it happen–are overlooked. It really is amazing to think about how the actions of one animal can affect an entire ecosystem. While honeybees are the most commonly used pollinator in domestic… Read more »
“What a hideous plant! Isn’t it terrific!?” “Oh my gawd–check out this spider! Look at all those long legs!” These are not exclamations of repulsion, but terms of endearment uttered by myself and our family. We truly love nature. To us the Earth is a marvel; there is beauty in even the ugliest of plants, the homeliest of animals–even rocks… Read more »
I love the assortment of people who are drawn to beekeeping. Young and old, eccentric and conservative, financially solvent–and bootstrappers like me–those who make do with less. People from all over the state come together for the annual Maine State Beekeepers’ conference to join together in the spirit of learning; to bask in the feeling of community generated by a… Read more »
At the August meeting of the Somerset Beekeepers, we hosted two of UMaine’s academics who have been actively researching native bees in Maine and in the agricultural system. Dr. Sam Hanes’ is an anthropologist studying the perceptions growers have relating to the benefits of incorporating native pollinators into their farming efforts, and the methods they are using to do so… Read more »