Ecologically responsible honey beee keeping with natives

Presented by Amy Thompson MSW, MNRD, Owner Gone Native Ecological Restoration Services

Ecological beekeeping is an interesting topic given European honey bees are not a native insect in North America. Most everyone loves honey and learning about the fascinating life of honey bees. Here, we’ll discuss some of the potential pitfalls of overstocking honey bees and the impact on native bees.

To mitigate the pitfalls we’ll consider ecological management practices such as the reduction, (with the goal of elimination), of non-native plant species, encouraging existing or planting native plant resources, with attention paid to ensuring a prolonged bloom period.

Ecological beekeepers, as all beekeepers, will never go wrong is creating the most diverse array of floral resources possible. We’ll see that implementing ecological practices into your beekeeping is a win win for native pollinators and wildlife as well as for the health of your bees.

We’ll also explore how to find quality seed sources, the basics of seed collecting, recommended field guides, deceptive marketing practices by conglomerate nursery industry, or “green washing,” which can make purchasing correct plant and seed stock confusing