BGO's Utopia (our vision)

BGO had the great pleasure to spend five years beekeeping and monitoring bees and their flowers at the Whetstone Savanna Vernal Pool Restoration Project 2017-21.  We spent every week during bee season for those years; watching nature heal, regenerate, function, and thrive.

What was once a flattened, overgrazed 200-acre ranch became an oasis.

Lessons from a Restored Natural System

Despite –

  • Heat waves

  • Severe drought

  • Fire

Native bee populations increased

Native bee diversity increased

Honey bee health was consistently stronger at the vernal pool property, in comparison with apiaries in agricultural landscapes / urban settings

  • Lower Varroa mite levels

  • Higher over wintering rate

  • Lower pathogen counts 

  • Higher honey yields

Inspired by our time there, we envision building resilience into the agricultural system by working with, not against nature by -

  • Planting a diversity of flowers within the landscape that are managed to produce nectar and pollen for our littlest livestock (bees)

  • Nurturing natural, diverse, biological systems to reduce/eliminate pesticide use by

    • Providing habitat for beneficial, predatory insects

    • Focusing on soil chemistry, mycorrhiza, vermiculture, proper bacteria/fungus ratios, nutrient and water cycling, eliminating anthelmintics, etc.

  • Building agricultural lands to become havens for honey bees, not something to seek refuge from

  • Leaving our wild refuges for the “wild animals” of the bee world, our native bees

  • Eliminating the need for farmers to pay pollination fees by providing enough healthy, diverse pollinators providing pollination services to the whole farm system

  • Enforcing anti-dumping policy and paying beekeepers a fair and just price for their honey so they can produce honey in their own flower-rich communities – keeping beekeepers and bees off the trucking circuit and home with their families   

  • Shifting US farm subsidies to support small farms and ranches growing whole foods for their communities  

  • Preserving pasture by paying ranchers a fair and just price for their livestock through supporting transparency and fair market policies

  • Engaging youth in nature and agriculture by inspiring them to create their own conservation initiatives

In essence, we simply envision a future where kids frolic in pastures of flowers, buzzing with bees, alongside profitable farmers and ranchers.

Sarah Red-LairdComment