Show #36 – Falling in love with Bees, with Nick Ritar

 Here’s a little snapshot of the goodies in today’s episode all about bees…

– What is permaculture?
– 40% of our food crops are pollinated by bees, we’ll pretty much cease to exist without them. Note to everyone: protect our bees!
– The concept of mechanical pollination is pretty ridiculous when we already have what we need in nature, we just need to not destroy that existing eco system.
– Western Honey Bees are our main honey makers and our little saviours here in Australia.
– Only bees in colonies can produce excess honey for human consumption so it’s important to protect swarms as well as individual bees.
– Nick has a contract with his bees where he provides a home for them and in return, he gets to take their leftover honey. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
– You have to be very careful not to take too much honey from hives otherwise the bee colony may die. Bees use honey as insulation so they will freeze to death if they don’t have enough honey.
– The cheap production of honey has put a lot of pressure on our bee population so it’s important to buy ethical, organic and locally sourced honey.
– Even if you just change the top 5 items you use in your family and replace those commercial items with small producer items. Start with eggs or bread! This will drastically cut down your environmental footprint.
– Buying local produce helps with decision fatigue too. Pick where you buy your stuff and do it all the time. Easy!
– Our bee populations in Australia are doing really well compared to the rest of the world and one of our biggest exports is bees which are a sign we’re doing good stuff.
– There are no signs of colony collapse disorder in Australia yet which is great news but the rest of the world is a harsh warning of what will happen if we don’t sort out our overuse of pesticides on our gardens.
– Support farmers who use organic practices because pesticides are looking like a major cause of colony collapse in overseas bee populations.
– Leaving parsley to flower for the bees is a great way to support colonies in your area – don’t just rip out plants when you’re done with them. Think about what they add to the cycle of life in your area.
– Don’t freak out about bees or bee swarms. They don’t want to hurt you, in fact, they just want to get safely to where they’re going so they can continue on with the work they’re doing. Mind your own beeswax (see what I did there?) and they’ll mind theirs.
– You can keep bees almost anywhere – even in cities! Check out New York City’s beekeeping association – If New York can do it, anyone can! Have a google about where you live and local beekeeping / honey. You’ll feel like a super good human for getting involved.

Here are all the important links: