Bee Journal from Taggart Siegel ~ New Zealand
I’ve been very fortunate meeting amazing beekeepers in the South Island of New Zealand. Many of the them come from a long line of beekeepers that go back over a hundred years. Some of the best organic honey comes out of New Zealand, especially the Manuka honey that is medicinally beneficial.New Zealand is a land where Colony Collapse Disorder hasn’t occurred, where bees are still thriving.
Bees in America are under siege with pesticides, genetically engineered crops and over breeding the queen. Bees are a barometer species and are telling us something important. All around the world Beekeepers are helping maintain healthy ecosystems with the millions of bees pollinating plants. Without the bees, future generations will not be able to bite into a delicious apple, or smell the aroma of a spring flower.
My first stop on my bee journey was Kakoura, a beautiful coastal, mountainous area where some of the best whale watching occurs in the world. Nick, a gracious certified organic beekeeper from Mountain Honey, took me in his bee truck up a Maunka forested valley to check his hives and the honey flow. It was an amazing sensation being around thousands of bees swarming around you and not having to worry (with a bee suit) about being stung.
The next day I filmed Warren Thompson, a beekeeper and sculptor. Warren says, “Art is a spiritual activity and bees really help feed that. The art of bee keeping becomes an art, not the money…It’s wonderful the way bees work with wax. Bees are a living medium that becomes a metaphor for me working with art.”Warren lives in the the high country of Hanmer Hotsprings with his wife, Elisabeth and their three daughters. Elisabeth says, “Warren’s bee hives are all healthy and they’re all well looked after. We have little dances around the bee hives when the Maunka honey comes in.” … Continue Reading