Knowledge intensive vs. chemical and petrochemical intensive
An attempt to create a homeostatic hive (a balance between competing and complimentary elements inside and outside the hive).
A dynamic spiral between the beekeeper and the bees, not a final destination but a learning process
Based on traditional beekeeping knowledge and practice but assumes nothing is sacred.
Common sense.
Like conventional beekeeping, it follows the biology of the bee but is not an attempt to push the limits of what a bee can do or put up with. Instead, sustainable beekeeping tries to understand the needs and biological drive of honeybees and follows that.
Beecentric. Putting bee health and happiness at the centre of your practice
Bees are an integral part in human life just as humans are integral in the life of bees. We are a part of the same fabric.
The pool of diversity and resilience we used to be able to draw upon, that acted like a cushion to soften the harshness of our errors, has been depleted to the point where even small mistakes resonate throughout the bee population. We have less room for error and even our smallest mistakes, repeated year after year only serve to deplete pollination resources even further.
Build resilience through plant and insect diversity.
Sustainable beekeeping is an attempt at bee restoration
“Agriculture Collapse Disorder” Mark Winston or “Human Collapse Disorder” Queen of the Sun
Recognition that plants need “pollination guilds”, a team of many kinds of pollinators to get seed set. All bees, Honeybees and native bees, are needed by plants
Regulate the commercialization of native bees and alternative pollinators
Practices
Create local honeybee populations; community bee breeding, stop importing bees from the other side of the world
Stop transporting bees from one spot to another for pollination
Build bridges with those you disagree with, find common ground to create a positive common future
Integrate art and beauty into every aspect of life, an essential human virtue is to create, to be creative, to be and feel unique and to make a contribution to a positive future
Keep bees on their own wax
Feed bees their own honey, stop feeding them sugar on a regular basis
Only take the surplus, never take what they need to flourish
Monitor for pests and diseases.
Keep queens for as long as possible
Respect the soil. Over 80% of bee species are ground-nesting.
Don’t use pesticides.
Don’t try to kill everything in a hive.
Leave a toehold for even the meanest of creatures.
Provide soil diversity; clay soils, sandy, compacted, loose and friable, level and sloping, etc
Provide a source of water
Grow native plant species in your garden
Provide pollination corridors so bees can move from one great bee garden to others across harsh urban and depleted rural landscapes
Earning an ethical living is an integral part of sustainability
