EQUALITY FOR ALL POLLINATORS

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BEES AND EQUALITY

The integral role played by pollinators in the sustainability of our food system has become a focal point of media attention as climate change and biodiversity loss become universal concerns. One third of our bee species face extinction. Loss of habitat, through urban development and industrial agricultural practices, is a major contributing factor. Without pollinators we stand to loose 70% of fruits & vegetables necessary for human health and the sustainability of our ecosystem.

We became beekeepers in 2015, the year of the Equality vote in Ireland. We had spent ten years conducting multi-disciplinary research with TU Dublin to argue the case for developing the LIFELINE, a new urban quarter devoted to the study of nature in the city. We were looking for a new business model for Bí URBAN, our new community hub devoted to the design and development of urban green infrastructure. I had been studying the sophisticated decision making processes used by honeybee colonies, and setting up an urban apiary seemed the best way to observe honeybee democracy in action.

This page provides links to an array of material that has inspired us in our quest to understand bees as stewards of the environment and mentors for behavioural change.

BEES AS MENTORS

One of the first things we discovered is the honeybee is only one species out of 99 native Irish bees which include bumblebees and solitary bees, and that there are thousands of pollinating insects. Many of these species are infinitely better pollinators than the honeybee and more fragile.

All pollinating insects work together to perform the environmental services we depend on for life. It was fortuitous that our interest in bees coincided with the launch of the All Ireland Pollinator Plan in 2015, a rare cross-border, all-island agreement. This rare and abundant resource, developed by our National Biodiversity Centre, provides comprehensive support for every individual, group or organisation interested in supporting pollinator health in Ireland.

In honour of this plan and the 2015 Irish Equality Vote held in the same year, we launched our slogan: Equality for All Pollinators. This tag line refers to humans as well as insects. As in the world of pollinators, we believe that everyone has an essential role to play in global stewardship and societal change. We strive to make Bí URBAN a space that will nurture participation in this process on a daily basis through our range of resources and activities.

Bee Diversity

Bees are excellent mentors to inspire and inform models of societal responsibility in a time of climate crisis. They are stewards of the highest order, only improving the area they inhabit through their interaction with the landscape. Their symbiotic role with plants through pollination is the most obvious, but there are so many inspiring examples:

Zero waste and embodied energy Bees only use materials that are compostable, recycled or become food for other animals. All their building materials are produced in house (hive) and materials are sourced locally, honeybee foraging is limited to within an approximate 2.5K radius of their home.

Sustainable design practices Bees use highly efficient design principals, using the minimum amount of material necessary for purpose.

Exclusive production of healthcare products Their six products, honey, wax, pollen, propolis, royal jelly and venom, are packed with health benefits for bees, humans and other animals. We have only begun to explore the sophisticated medicinal properties of these products.

Democracy Bees have developed collective consensus decision making processes that have inspired human governance models, giving birth to the popular terms including super organism and distributed or swarm intelligence. One of the most valued books in Bí URBAN’s reference library is Honeybee Democracy by Thomas D. Seeley. Thomas has spent his academic career studying the social systems at play in hives, including the “Waggle Dance,” a communication tool used by scout honeybees to inform decision making amongst the colony. The waggle dance starts a debate that ripples through the hive, and “…much like the multitude of cells in a body, (the bees) work together without an overseer to create a functional unit whose abilities far transcend those of its constituents.”

SAVING THE BEES

In an article written by Hannah Hamilton for the Irish Times, Hamilton references a quote by the pollination ecologist Jeff Ollerton: “Keeping hives to save the bees is like keeping chickens to save the birds.” The message, “Save The Bees,” has led to a focus the honeybee. This simple interpretation is tipping the balance in a complex symbiotic ecology…

“There was an increase of 3,000 beekeepers in the year 2019 from the previous year, and though beekeepers are an important role in the preservation and support of pollinators, we are ignoring the substantial amount of other species of pollinators who need help in different ways. 

Honeybees are housed, cared for, treated for infection and supported through colder and damper months. Wild pollinators have to survive infection, destruction of homes and face quite an empty landscape when it comes to sourcing food for survival. There's a lot we can do, once we're aware of their needs, for wild pollinators.”

Article by Hannah Hamilton for the Irish Times: here

Information on creating wild nesting habitats:  here 

Bee Stewardship

To help the public develop a deeper understanding of how bees can inspire behavioral change and lead us toward the design of healthy, sustainable urban communities, we run a range of workshops during the year. The most ambitious of these is our six-part Bee Stewardship Workshop Series during May and June. The course takes a holistic approach to highlight the importance of all 99 Irish bees: honeybees, solitary bees and Bumblebees and features hands-on learning with national & international specialists as well as the local beekeepers who supply Bí URBAN’s unique range of raw natural honey. 

Only 75% of participants attending conventional beekeeping courses end up keeping honeybees so we decided to focus on information that will stand to you whether or not you decide to keep bees for honey. Although we do provide you with enough knowledge to set up your own honeybee apiary, the main objective of this course is to provide a holistic view of our historical relationship with bees and the role each of us can play in making sure they survive and flourish.

Here is an example of the subjects we cover:Bees and Human HealthAn introduction to bees and their contribution to human health & well-being followed by a Honey Tasting session.The Honeybee ApiaryCaring for honeybees: location, equipment, maintenance, disease control, the six products of the hive and their many uses.Urban BeekeepingBees doing better in cities, why is this and what are the special challenges involved in supporting wild bees and maintaining an urban apiary?Building for BeesBait Hives, Commercial Hives, Wild Bee boxes and recent Innovations - This hands-on workshop explores the criteria bees look for when searching for a home and the value of recycled waste material when building for refugee bees.Apiculture Outdoor ClassroomLearning Journeys to visit local urban honeybee apiaries and wild bee habitats. An introduction to wild bee monitoring and the art of bee Hunting.Gardening for Insects and Beekeeping for Conservation 

A field Trip to Dunmore Country School, Durrow, Co Laois to visit master gardener and natural beekeeper Tanguy de Toulgeot for an introduction to chemical-free beekeeping and gardening to support insects.