WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:06.660 in a world brimming with complexity few creatures 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:12.839 embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:17.699 precision she dances from bloom to bloom each 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:22.399 motion guided by millennia upon millennia of 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:28.800 instinct each act in service to the whole and 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:34.560 then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:40.479 of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist, 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:45.460 part poet, they move along their hives with the 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:50.560 efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:54.219 the bees' needs as best they can comprehend, 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:59.670 and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the 00:00:59.670 --> 00:01:05.569 Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing 00:01:05.569 --> 00:01:12.090 like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their 00:01:12.090 --> 00:01:22.989 journey. Welcome, welcome to Be Lovey Keeping 00:01:22.989 --> 00:01:25.489 presented by our good friends over at Man Lake. 00:01:25.790 --> 00:01:28.909 I'm not in my normal place today, in my office. 00:01:28.950 --> 00:01:31.730 As you can see, we're at Appamondia Congress, 00:01:31.909 --> 00:01:34.909 which is in Copenhagen, and we had a great first 00:01:34.909 --> 00:01:37.890 day yesterday. Can't wait to see what's on tap 00:01:37.890 --> 00:01:40.170 today. We're gonna have all kinds of learning 00:01:40.170 --> 00:01:44.769 sessions and see all the new products. Someone 00:01:44.769 --> 00:01:47.209 keeps walking in the frame. That's okay, this 00:01:47.209 --> 00:01:50.189 is natural going on back here. And we're not 00:01:50.189 --> 00:01:52.250 gonna try to film the whole conference for you. 00:01:52.519 --> 00:01:54.819 But just to let you know in the coming weeks 00:01:54.819 --> 00:01:57.280 we're going to have people on the show that we're 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:59.359 speakers here. We're going to be showing all 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:01.400 kinds of new products and it's going to be a 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:08.460 ton of fun. So let's go for it. Fast forward 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:11.719 a few days, I'm back home. The conference was 00:02:11.719 --> 00:02:14.979 amazing. Epimonia is really a blend of where 00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:18.030 beekeeping meets science. There were hundreds 00:02:18.030 --> 00:02:21.150 of different speakers talking about their science 00:02:21.150 --> 00:02:23.750 that they're working on and all of the things 00:02:23.750 --> 00:02:25.849 that they're learning that are going to help 00:02:25.849 --> 00:02:28.530 us with ViroA and all kinds of other things in 00:02:28.530 --> 00:02:33.569 beekeeping. And the expo, wow, it had so many 00:02:33.569 --> 00:02:36.409 businesses from around the world, all kinds of 00:02:36.409 --> 00:02:38.949 new things for beekeeping. We'll talk about some 00:02:38.949 --> 00:02:41.889 of those in the future, but since my voice isn't 00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:44.449 going to last long, let's get to the interview 00:02:44.449 --> 00:02:47.229 pre -recorded. Here it comes and it's a nice 00:02:47.229 --> 00:02:53.629 feel -good story today. I'd like to welcome Elsa 00:02:53.629 --> 00:02:57.229 Gallagher to the show today. Elsa, you are, are 00:02:57.229 --> 00:03:00.669 you in North Dakota? I'm in Missouri. You are 00:03:00.669 --> 00:03:04.409 not in North Dakota. I wasn't even close, but 00:03:04.409 --> 00:03:07.430 the Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund, that's where 00:03:07.430 --> 00:03:10.509 you're headquartered, right? Yeah, yes. We have 00:03:10.509 --> 00:03:14.770 a big reach and everyone works remotely in our 00:03:14.770 --> 00:03:17.389 team. Well, give me an idea of what you do for 00:03:17.389 --> 00:03:19.969 the fund. So I'm our habitat program director. 00:03:20.530 --> 00:03:24.530 I work with landowners that we work with to put 00:03:24.530 --> 00:03:27.169 projects on the ground. So I work one -on -one 00:03:27.169 --> 00:03:31.669 with individual landowners, corporations, companies, 00:03:32.270 --> 00:03:37.169 corporate campuses, cities, parks, conservation 00:03:37.169 --> 00:03:40.469 departments, and we work to put good quality 00:03:40.469 --> 00:03:44.080 pollinator habitat on the ground. at a reduced 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:46.699 rate for those partners that we work with, the 00:03:46.699 --> 00:03:49.099 land partners that we work with. So let's start 00:03:49.099 --> 00:03:51.699 with a 30 ,000 foot view and then we'll narrow 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:54.120 down to a bunch of topics, talk more detail. 00:03:54.259 --> 00:03:58.479 But in general, why should a beekeeper or somebody 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.560 that's thinking about it or someone that just 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:04.639 loves honeybees, why should they care? Sure. 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:07.560 Well, it's not just the honeybees and the bees 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:10.120 these days. You know, the monarch butterfly is 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:13.819 about to be listed. as either an endangered or 00:04:13.819 --> 00:04:15.460 a threatened species through the U .S. Fish and 00:04:15.460 --> 00:04:18.579 Wildlife Service. We've got multiple bee species 00:04:18.579 --> 00:04:23.160 that are in jeopardy, in danger, not just for 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:25.860 our food supply and for things like that, but 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:28.420 just general biodiversity and having those species 00:04:28.420 --> 00:04:30.839 out there. To me, that's an important thing. 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:33.379 And I think most beekeepers would agree that 00:04:33.379 --> 00:04:38.399 having great pollinator services is also a benefit 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:41.949 that certainly the honeybee provides. Boy, there's 00:04:41.949 --> 00:04:45.189 just been so much that keeps hitting the beekeeper 00:04:45.189 --> 00:04:48.509 these days and die -offs. We want to focus on 00:04:48.509 --> 00:04:51.129 what we think is one of the bigger issues and 00:04:51.129 --> 00:04:53.889 that is having high quality habitat or high quality 00:04:53.889 --> 00:04:57.550 forage for bees. So let's be more specific. What 00:04:57.550 --> 00:05:00.569 do you guys get into as far as habitat and forage? 00:05:00.790 --> 00:05:05.040 So what we do is we develop a pollinator seed 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:07.560 mix for a landowner. Say a landowner comes in, 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:09.800 you know, Joe Bob Smith is coming in tomorrow 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:13.699 and he wants to work with us on developing habitat 00:05:13.699 --> 00:05:18.180 or forage in his area. So we develop a plan for 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:21.120 him to get the site prepared, get the site ready, 00:05:21.379 --> 00:05:25.180 and if his site is between two acres and 25 acres 00:05:25.180 --> 00:05:29.550 in size. we provide free seed for that project. 00:05:30.050 --> 00:05:32.269 And we break the project up into two pieces. 00:05:32.589 --> 00:05:36.449 So if he's doing 20 acres, we give him 10 acres 00:05:36.449 --> 00:05:40.810 of a very high diversity seed mix that's native 00:05:40.810 --> 00:05:44.670 to his local area. And then the other 10 acres 00:05:44.670 --> 00:05:48.220 is planted separately. to a bee mix. And that 00:05:48.220 --> 00:05:51.459 bee mix has a lot of clovers in it, has a lemon 00:05:51.459 --> 00:05:54.459 balm in it. There's a lot of different... Fasalia 00:05:54.459 --> 00:05:57.420 in some states is included in that bee mix, but 00:05:57.420 --> 00:06:02.399 the bee mix is really very forage rich for honeybees 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:04.759 especially. And then the other mix is more of 00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:07.000 a diverse native mix that takes a couple more 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:09.980 years to establish, but eventually provides a 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:13.160 ton of diversity for that site. So let's say 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:17.319 I have a 10 acre place and I'm growing corn or 00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:21.660 alfalfa or soybeans or something like that. And 00:06:21.660 --> 00:06:25.699 I realized the benefits of having a border of 00:06:25.699 --> 00:06:29.420 some kind of forage for pollinators. Can I get 00:06:29.420 --> 00:06:32.500 with you and say, hey, I'm going to plant this 00:06:32.500 --> 00:06:36.680 whole 10 acres, but I want a ring. Everything 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:39.019 was some good habitat. Is that something that 00:06:39.019 --> 00:06:41.379 would qualify and how would you figure out what 00:06:41.379 --> 00:06:44.439 I need to do? It would qualify if it met our 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:47.060 minimum of two acres. So we we don't do projects 00:06:47.060 --> 00:06:49.399 smaller than two acres in size. That's just not 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:52.689 our niche. We do projects larger than 25 acres 00:06:52.689 --> 00:06:54.870 in size though with more of a cost share approach 00:06:54.870 --> 00:06:57.129 where we have you pay for part of it. However, 00:06:57.310 --> 00:06:59.790 if you had an existing area and you wanted to 00:06:59.790 --> 00:07:02.290 put in like you're talking about like a buffer 00:07:02.290 --> 00:07:05.029 the habitat buffer around the outside and that's 00:07:05.029 --> 00:07:07.230 that's kind of how we encourage our landowners 00:07:07.230 --> 00:07:10.410 to plant anyway is to plant our our honey bee 00:07:10.410 --> 00:07:14.990 mix our bee mix around as a as a border around 00:07:14.990 --> 00:07:17.449 the native mix, which is usually planted in the 00:07:17.449 --> 00:07:20.230 middle. So it's like a picture in a picture frame. 00:07:20.589 --> 00:07:23.870 The frame is the bee mix around the outside and 00:07:23.870 --> 00:07:26.329 the inside is the actual picture or the native 00:07:26.329 --> 00:07:29.290 planting. And then that helps us, like if you 00:07:29.290 --> 00:07:31.569 say you ever wanted to manage your site with 00:07:31.569 --> 00:07:34.970 prescribed fire and manage that native planting 00:07:34.970 --> 00:07:39.350 using burning, you can use that nice green strip 00:07:39.350 --> 00:07:43.079 of clover. species, your bee mix, as a green 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:45.519 fire break. So it works really well. But in a 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:47.139 situation where you're just wanting to plant 00:07:47.139 --> 00:07:50.480 like a border around a crop field, you can definitely 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:53.360 do that with both of our seed mixes. That can 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:55.540 work as well, as long as we can come up with 00:07:55.540 --> 00:07:57.839 that two acre. Or, you know, you could do an 00:07:57.839 --> 00:07:59.339 acre on your place and the neighbor could do 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:02.560 an acre on his place. We've done many projects 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.079 like that as well. Let's say I live in more of 00:08:05.079 --> 00:08:09.139 an urban area and I want to get my city leaders 00:08:09.139 --> 00:08:12.860 to realize Hey in some of the park strips or 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:16.279 along the highways and along the roads We need 00:08:16.279 --> 00:08:19.339 to have this kind of stuff planted You have any 00:08:19.339 --> 00:08:22.220 guidance for me or do you reach out to those 00:08:22.220 --> 00:08:24.980 people for me or how does that work? It's easier 00:08:24.980 --> 00:08:27.620 if a local person reaches out just because they 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:30.160 have those connections in the community and At 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:32.220 least with the beekeeping groups that I've worked 00:08:32.220 --> 00:08:34.980 with come and given programs to and worked with. 00:08:35.179 --> 00:08:37.399 They all seem to ask that same question and want 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.360 to be more active locally with their city. So 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:42.899 I'll give you an example of a Quincy Illinois 00:08:42.899 --> 00:08:45.200 project that we worked on. The beekeepers came 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:47.220 to me, I came and gave a program about our habitat 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:50.340 program and No one in the room really raised 00:08:50.340 --> 00:08:51.879 their hand and said, you know, I've got four 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:54.360 acres or two acres to do this. But one of the 00:08:54.360 --> 00:08:56.620 guys said, you know, I know the parks guys. And 00:08:56.620 --> 00:08:59.120 the parks guys might be interested. And so we've 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:02.519 ended up planting, working with their local parks 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:05.139 group on planting two different projects now 00:09:05.139 --> 00:09:07.980 over the past couple of years for their pollinators. 00:09:08.019 --> 00:09:09.919 And it was all because of that beekeeping club, 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:13.240 the Quincy Beekeepers. They did a really great 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.679 job of kind of communicating and trying to. open 00:09:16.679 --> 00:09:19.740 a few doors for us. But we did do a few Zoom 00:09:19.740 --> 00:09:23.799 calls with the city and I've also talked to folks 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:26.460 at universities. There's just a lot of different 00:09:26.460 --> 00:09:28.539 opportunity and we're happy to get on a call 00:09:28.539 --> 00:09:31.179 and try and help make something happen. But usually 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:34.360 those kind of things do better locally. We have 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:39.100 one project in Ohio that became a Bee City, a 00:09:39.100 --> 00:09:42.360 certified Bee City. After doing our planting, 00:09:42.860 --> 00:09:45.360 and we worked with them, they worked with their 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:48.539 FFA students, and the FFA students in the high 00:09:48.539 --> 00:09:51.200 school actually did the planting. They did the 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:54.340 site prep, they did the planting, so any way 00:09:54.340 --> 00:09:56.019 that we can get the community more involved in 00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:58.000 the project, people have a little more buy -in 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.580 and are more interested in it. And so, for example, 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:03.620 we had a local beekeeper come out and bring an 00:10:03.620 --> 00:10:06.179 observation hive when we did the planting that 00:10:06.179 --> 00:10:07.980 day, and we had the local homeschool kids do 00:10:07.980 --> 00:10:10.649 the planting. So we've done quite a few. different 00:10:10.649 --> 00:10:13.950 things. People are excited about bees, really. 00:10:14.809 --> 00:10:17.210 It's interesting to me. I think there was a lot 00:10:17.210 --> 00:10:19.970 of really bad things about COVID. I think a few 00:10:19.970 --> 00:10:21.870 of the good things are that people got a little 00:10:21.870 --> 00:10:23.929 more interested in the homesteading movement 00:10:23.929 --> 00:10:27.210 and really trying to keep bees. And so if we 00:10:27.210 --> 00:10:30.090 can keep those people educated and they can be 00:10:30.090 --> 00:10:33.590 good beekeepers and go through a mentor program 00:10:33.590 --> 00:10:37.769 and learn how to do it right, I think it could 00:10:37.769 --> 00:10:41.600 be a great thing for someone to take on and make 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:44.019 a part of their life. Okay let's talk for a minute 00:10:44.019 --> 00:10:47.320 about just a lot of people out there that okay 00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:51.080 they're not on 10 or 20 acres they live in much 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:55.000 more of a suburb kind of place and their house 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:59.419 is on a quarter acre and and they have one beehive 00:10:59.419 --> 00:11:02.809 in the backyard. or they have no beehives but 00:11:02.809 --> 00:11:06.090 they care about the pollinators. And on their 00:11:06.090 --> 00:11:09.450 quarter acre they've got this beautiful Kentucky 00:11:09.450 --> 00:11:13.250 bluegrass that some people call a green desert. 00:11:15.070 --> 00:11:18.370 Give us an idea. What can we do? We may not be 00:11:18.370 --> 00:11:20.970 able to get seeds from you but that's okay. There 00:11:20.970 --> 00:11:23.110 are things that we can do. Give us some advice 00:11:23.110 --> 00:11:27.950 here. There are. So cut that mowing down. I'm 00:11:27.950 --> 00:11:30.210 not a fan of the lawn. As a wildlife biologist 00:11:30.210 --> 00:11:34.549 my entire career, I do not see much benefit in 00:11:34.549 --> 00:11:38.289 a lawn. There's bee -friendly things that you 00:11:38.289 --> 00:11:40.190 can do to lawns. You can add a lot of species 00:11:40.190 --> 00:11:42.389 to a lawn to make it a little more bee -friendly. 00:11:42.789 --> 00:11:45.889 I would be tempted to kill off a portion of the 00:11:45.889 --> 00:11:49.889 lawn and to plant something that would have more 00:11:49.889 --> 00:11:52.690 pollen benefit, that would have more nectar resources 00:11:52.690 --> 00:11:57.250 for migrating insects. So for me, that's what 00:11:57.250 --> 00:12:00.049 I would do on a small site. You know, I would 00:12:00.049 --> 00:12:01.929 go ahead and do a little planting. I think you 00:12:01.929 --> 00:12:05.269 can have good habitat and provide a resource 00:12:05.269 --> 00:12:07.009 for your pollinators that are moving through 00:12:07.009 --> 00:12:09.570 the area, even if you can't keep them there full 00:12:09.570 --> 00:12:12.870 time, you know, in your area, because you don't 00:12:12.870 --> 00:12:14.870 have a large enough space, but you can always 00:12:14.870 --> 00:12:17.909 do something. And you'll be amazed at the way 00:12:17.909 --> 00:12:20.289 the insects start to use the area when you've 00:12:20.289 --> 00:12:23.960 got more diversity. you know, less pesticide 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:26.159 use, those types of things. Just be aware of 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:29.700 those types of things on your property. And I 00:12:29.700 --> 00:12:31.860 think if you can get some different species in 00:12:31.860 --> 00:12:34.500 there, try and get as many different types and 00:12:34.500 --> 00:12:38.259 varieties as you can because that benefits, you 00:12:38.259 --> 00:12:40.700 know, more species. There's new research out 00:12:40.700 --> 00:12:42.559 there that shows a little bit and I could talk 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:43.980 to you a little bit about that, Eric, but it 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:46.700 was I saw a really great talk just recently at 00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:49.000 the Minnesota Honey Producers Association meeting 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:53.059 from Louis Bartlett down at UGA. and he talked 00:12:53.059 --> 00:12:58.740 at length about how, even if the forage was better, 00:12:58.820 --> 00:13:02.320 so better quality, more protein, more carbs, 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:04.779 it was just a better quality forage, but it was 00:13:04.779 --> 00:13:07.700 a monoculture, just one, it was one planting, 00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:12.960 that bees always do better, even if the forage 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:16.100 is lower quality, they always do better if there's 00:13:16.100 --> 00:13:20.159 more diversity. So they showed that if there's 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.620 a lot more diversity in the pollen, and they're 00:13:23.620 --> 00:13:26.360 bringing in food from lots of different plants, 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:29.139 that they always do better than they do on a 00:13:29.139 --> 00:13:31.620 strict monoculture diet of just one species. 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:33.620 And I thought that was really interesting, and 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:36.379 he spoke right before I did, so it worked really 00:13:36.379 --> 00:13:38.919 well when I was talking about trying to get people 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:42.539 to plant more diverse species and to get our 00:13:42.539 --> 00:13:45.470 seed mixes are... A minimum, the native mix is 00:13:45.470 --> 00:13:48.230 a minimum of 40 native species. Our Missouri 00:13:48.230 --> 00:13:51.649 mix is 69 native species. Yeah, that just makes 00:13:51.649 --> 00:13:55.750 sense. Not only for honeybees, but honeybees 00:13:55.750 --> 00:13:59.769 are sharing their area with other native pollinators. 00:14:00.950 --> 00:14:03.889 The state that I live in, we have 2 ,000 native 00:14:03.889 --> 00:14:06.769 bee species, for example. And if you want, I'll 00:14:06.769 --> 00:14:08.830 name them all alphabetically in just a minute. 00:14:09.819 --> 00:14:13.700 kidding, but we see so many of them around here. 00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:18.159 For example, I've mentioned on this podcast before 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:21.600 one of my favorite things in our yard, and I'm 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.019 planting more of them because the pollinators 00:14:24.019 --> 00:14:27.610 like it so much, is a pussy willow tree. And 00:14:27.610 --> 00:14:31.049 it doesn't just attract honeybees. It's the first 00:14:31.049 --> 00:14:33.090 thing that they're attracted to in the spring. 00:14:33.710 --> 00:14:36.190 But I go out there and there are I don't even 00:14:36.190 --> 00:14:38.769 know how many different species of native bees 00:14:38.769 --> 00:14:43.330 and bumblebees and butterflies. And it's just 00:14:43.330 --> 00:14:47.409 really cool to see. And one doesn't exclude the 00:14:47.409 --> 00:14:49.950 others. I know there have been some articles 00:14:49.950 --> 00:14:54.159 recently about honeybees. Well, just Taking all 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:56.480 that forage and then the native bees are dying 00:14:56.480 --> 00:15:01.379 off. I Don't know where I am I see them all working 00:15:01.379 --> 00:15:03.759 together and having fun together and singing 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:07.559 kumbaya together and maybe I'm naive but But 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:11.200 I see a lot of synergy between all of them some 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.659 of the things that we've planted here Specifically 00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:18.659 for honeybees this particular summer. We're covered 00:15:18.659 --> 00:15:23.730 with bumblebees cool, okay At the Be a Waterfly 00:15:23.730 --> 00:15:26.629 Fund, Eric, we really do believe that a high 00:15:26.629 --> 00:15:30.250 tide floats all the ships. You put in a lot of 00:15:30.250 --> 00:15:32.149 different habitat, you put in a lot of diversity, 00:15:32.470 --> 00:15:34.549 you are going to help a lot of different species. 00:15:35.850 --> 00:15:39.070 And I do know, and I can't even quote it for 00:15:39.070 --> 00:15:41.809 you because I think it was just in a recent meeting, 00:15:42.169 --> 00:15:44.730 we work with a group called Farmers for Monarchs, 00:15:44.730 --> 00:15:47.110 and they were just talking about some recent 00:15:47.110 --> 00:15:49.929 research that was showing that there isn't as 00:15:49.929 --> 00:15:54.159 much truth to the old wives' tale that honey 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:57.799 bees are using up all the resources. And we should 00:15:57.799 --> 00:15:59.539 worry more about native bees. You know what? 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:02.320 I am happy that somebody's worried about a bee. 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:05.700 If they get started with honey bees and then 00:16:05.700 --> 00:16:07.580 they become more interested in other pollinators, 00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:09.600 that's great. If they get started with honey 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:11.299 bees and they're very interested in honey bees 00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:14.919 and they become a quality beekeeper that takes 00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:18.179 good care of their hives and provides a resource 00:16:18.179 --> 00:16:20.830 out there, that's great too. If you're a beekeeper 00:16:20.830 --> 00:16:23.610 like me, we're getting into that favorite time 00:16:23.610 --> 00:16:26.649 of year, honey harvest. But it can be a lot of 00:16:26.649 --> 00:16:29.669 work. That's where Mad Light comes in. They have 00:16:29.669 --> 00:16:32.730 everything you need to make the job easier, cleaner, 00:16:33.149 --> 00:16:36.820 and more efficient. Removal aids, refractometers, 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:40.840 uncapping tools, extractors, tanks, wax melters, 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:43.460 even the jars and labels. Plus they have free 00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:45.940 shipping on glass containers. Whether you're 00:16:45.940 --> 00:16:49.320 a hobbyist with two hives or a full -blown commercial 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:52.399 operation, Man Lake has it all. And don't forget 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:55.500 your discount code MLBLove10. It's in the show 00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:59.179 notes. For $10 off your first $100 purchase. 00:16:59.629 --> 00:17:02.330 Yeah absolutely we believe that if you put that 00:17:02.330 --> 00:17:04.289 habitat out there they're going to come in and 00:17:04.289 --> 00:17:06.049 a lot of different species are going to be using 00:17:06.049 --> 00:17:09.410 it as well. Let's get back to this quarter acre 00:17:09.410 --> 00:17:12.789 example for a second because I want people to 00:17:12.789 --> 00:17:19.049 not be afraid of this. We used to live in a neighborhood 00:17:19.049 --> 00:17:22.970 where it was almost a competition whose grass 00:17:22.970 --> 00:17:27.400 looked the best and the most perfect. And I had 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:30.960 neighbors that would mow in diagonal directions 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:33.960 and try to make it look like a baseball field 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:36.980 and perfect edging and all that kind of stuff. 00:17:37.619 --> 00:17:40.279 And if you didn't do that, you were almost looked 00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:44.220 down upon in the neighborhood. I live in a more 00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:48.720 rural kind of area now, but I've done some of 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:51.940 the things with my yard that I wanted to do there 00:17:51.940 --> 00:17:54.579 and that I know are okay to do there. For example, 00:17:54.970 --> 00:17:58.190 Before we knew better, we started with a whole 00:17:58.190 --> 00:18:00.650 front yard of just regular green turf grass. 00:18:01.589 --> 00:18:05.089 The last few years I've been overseeding with 00:18:05.089 --> 00:18:08.710 clover. I didn't have to rip out or kill all 00:18:08.710 --> 00:18:11.390 of the grass, which some people do to plant clover. 00:18:11.829 --> 00:18:15.269 just over seeded with clover or here's a bare 00:18:15.269 --> 00:18:17.589 spot I'm gonna put some clover seed down and 00:18:17.589 --> 00:18:21.009 that kind of thing and I would say if you were 00:18:21.009 --> 00:18:24.289 to look really closely now at the grass you would 00:18:24.289 --> 00:18:28.630 see grass and clover roughly 50 -50 it's a beautiful 00:18:28.630 --> 00:18:32.230 lush lawn from the driveway it just looks green 00:18:32.230 --> 00:18:35.269 that's what people care about and the other thing 00:18:35.269 --> 00:18:37.549 that is great about that here and in some other 00:18:37.549 --> 00:18:41.740 places is it uses a lot lot less water I just 00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:44.279 want people to not be afraid of it. If you live 00:18:44.279 --> 00:18:46.579 in one of those picture -perfect neighborhoods, 00:18:47.460 --> 00:18:50.599 be the rebel, plant some clover or something, 00:18:50.920 --> 00:18:53.160 and it still is going to look beautiful. I'm 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:55.000 with you, Eric, because I don't believe that 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:58.019 you don't have to go out there and plant a native 00:18:58.019 --> 00:19:03.480 five -foot tall grass with sunflower plantings 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:06.140 to provide a benefit. You can go in and put some 00:19:06.140 --> 00:19:08.940 of these smaller, shorter growing things into 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:12.119 your lawn. The bee lawn program in Minnesota 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:14.599 is really active. The Minnesota Bee Lab works 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:17.599 with them and they just do a great job of trying 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:21.359 to get people to add something to that grass 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:23.519 mix. And I think you're exactly right. Mike, 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:26.299 I have a dog yard where I let my dogs run every 00:19:26.299 --> 00:19:29.900 day and it's about an acre and fenced in and 00:19:29.900 --> 00:19:31.960 I've been doing just what you're doing. I'm taking 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:34.779 Dutch white clover and I am just broadcasting 00:19:34.779 --> 00:19:37.380 it in any of the bear spots and the bees just... 00:19:37.230 --> 00:19:39.529 Love it. Now it drives my husband absolutely 00:19:39.529 --> 00:19:42.650 nutto because I will avoid some of the bigger 00:19:42.650 --> 00:19:45.549 patches if they're really dense and there's bees 00:19:45.549 --> 00:19:47.490 using them a lot. I'll avoid them when I mow 00:19:47.490 --> 00:19:50.789 and he just he prefers to be more of a strict 00:19:50.789 --> 00:19:54.789 mower but I'm enjoying it very much and I think 00:19:54.789 --> 00:19:58.170 the bees are too. And I find when I mow and it's 00:19:58.170 --> 00:20:00.849 not all that often anyway but when I do if I 00:20:00.849 --> 00:20:03.130 just leave the lawnmower set as high as it'll 00:20:03.130 --> 00:20:06.170 go it leaves a lot of those clover flowers in 00:20:06.170 --> 00:20:08.660 there. it doesn't cut them all off. The other 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:11.460 thing that we've done that everybody can do is 00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:14.480 there's some things that pop up on their own 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:17.440 you can call them weeds whatever that we used 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:21.279 to rip out or heaven forbid spray with something 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:23.700 which we don't anymore and now some of those 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:26.059 things we just let grow like one of the things 00:20:26.059 --> 00:20:28.240 that we have here sunflowers they grow native 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:30.859 we don't have to water them they'll grow in the 00:20:30.859 --> 00:20:33.299 middle of a gravel driveway if you don't care 00:20:33.299 --> 00:20:37.250 and It's okay to leave some of that stuff. And 00:20:37.250 --> 00:20:39.349 it'll be covered up with insects. I mean, you'll 00:20:39.349 --> 00:20:42.390 just be amazed. I was down in Oklahoma last weekend 00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:45.309 and my sister has a bunch of just common sunflower 00:20:45.309 --> 00:20:48.950 growing along her road ditches. And it was just 00:20:48.950 --> 00:20:52.690 covered in all kinds of a lot of butterflies. 00:20:53.650 --> 00:20:55.690 There was just there was a lot of bees in there. 00:20:55.750 --> 00:20:58.650 It was just amazing to me how how much diversity 00:20:58.650 --> 00:21:01.299 there is. when you leave a little bit of something 00:21:01.299 --> 00:21:04.000 for them. You don't have to do these larger projects. 00:21:04.500 --> 00:21:05.960 As long as you do a little bit of something, 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:10.099 you can make a benefit to the pollinators. And 00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:12.319 you had mentioned monarchs a few minutes ago. 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:17.359 We used to kill milkweed because it was a weed. 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:20.960 My wife is now trying to find some to plant. 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:24.140 Tell us about milkweed and monarchs. Well, one 00:21:24.140 --> 00:21:26.339 I'll tell you about where she can get it to plant 00:21:26.339 --> 00:21:30.339 because Monarch Watch is the name of the organization 00:21:30.339 --> 00:21:33.500 out of Kansas. They do a really great job of 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:36.759 providing milkweed plugs, small milkweeds. Don't 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:40.940 know if Utah is in their range, but I'm guessing 00:21:40.940 --> 00:21:44.140 it might be. But common milkweed. So the life 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:46.740 cycle of the monarch butterfly is really incredible 00:21:46.740 --> 00:21:49.680 for people that don't know. They're hatched all 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:52.660 the way from Texas all the way up into Canada 00:21:52.660 --> 00:21:56.599 and the monarch butterfly overwinners in the 00:21:56.599 --> 00:21:59.980 OML for forest in Mexico one spot like what literally 00:21:59.980 --> 00:22:02.420 when I say one spot I mean just a couple acres 00:22:02.420 --> 00:22:04.519 in one spot That's where all the monarchs go 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:07.700 to every year on the top of this forest. So they'll 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:09.740 fly up to Texas They'll lay an egg and then that 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:12.859 monarch dies the egg hatches and then that egg 00:22:12.859 --> 00:22:16.380 will fly up to Missouri Or as a as an adult it'll 00:22:16.380 --> 00:22:18.539 fly up to Missouri and then it lays an egg and 00:22:18.539 --> 00:22:21.019 then it dies and then that egg that is hatched 00:22:21.019 --> 00:22:24.660 in Missouri flies up to say Minnesota and then 00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:27.140 it will on the fourth generation which is happening 00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:29.920 right now as we're going through the fourth generation 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:33.160 is being hatched right now it's that fourth generation 00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:35.759 will head all the way back to that OML fir forest 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:38.359 in Mexico which I mean to me though that's a 00:22:38.359 --> 00:22:41.920 migration incredible story that this species 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:46.420 has adapted It's never seen the OML fir forest. 00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:48.579 It's four generations removed from anybody that 00:22:48.579 --> 00:22:51.640 ever has. And then all these generations are 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:55.839 built just to lay eggs and let them move forward 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:58.900 and then they die. So it's just an incredible 00:22:58.900 --> 00:23:02.779 story. And the number one food source for monarch 00:23:02.779 --> 00:23:05.400 caterpillars is common milkweed, which is the 00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:08.519 one that you said, Eric, is every farmer had 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:11.319 their kids out there. cutting milkweed plants 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:13.779 for years and years and years. We didn't understand 00:23:13.779 --> 00:23:16.839 the importance of that milkweed to the monarch 00:23:16.839 --> 00:23:20.079 butterfly, and it's mostly common milkweed. There's 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:22.759 a lot of other prettier ones you can plant, but 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:26.480 common milkweed is probably 90 % or more of the 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:29.579 monarch caterpillars are raised on a common milkweed 00:23:29.579 --> 00:23:32.539 plant. I was mowing earlier and I just went around 00:23:32.539 --> 00:23:34.759 two little baby, I'll send you a picture later, 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:37.460 but I literally went around these two little 00:23:37.460 --> 00:23:39.480 milkweeds and I was gonna, I was like, nope, 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:41.299 they're in the, he's gonna get mad if I don't 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:43.619 mow it. And I was mowing and I looked down and 00:23:43.619 --> 00:23:45.440 I saw two caterpillar and they're good sized 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:47.039 right now. I was like, whoa, look at that. I 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:50.680 just went right around them. So, yay. And I haven't 00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:52.779 seen a monarch butterfly around here in a few 00:23:52.779 --> 00:23:56.319 years, unfortunately. So if I plant a milkweed, 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:59.170 is it even gonna do anything? because how's a 00:23:59.170 --> 00:24:02.049 monarch going to find it to lay eggs? I bet they 00:24:02.049 --> 00:24:04.890 will find it. I'm telling you. Yeah, they'll 00:24:04.890 --> 00:24:07.130 find it. They really do. It's amazing to me how 00:24:07.130 --> 00:24:10.109 they will find and plant a couple. And if you 00:24:10.109 --> 00:24:13.049 and if you don't like the look of the. Common 00:24:13.049 --> 00:24:15.630 milkweed as much it's a little scruffier of a 00:24:15.630 --> 00:24:19.509 plant the swamp milkweed is probably number two 00:24:19.509 --> 00:24:23.009 in their preference range Swamp and swamp milkweed 00:24:23.009 --> 00:24:24.950 is a little shorter and it's a little prettier 00:24:24.950 --> 00:24:27.589 of a plant I really like and it likes a little 00:24:27.589 --> 00:24:30.430 wetter area So it may not work real well everywhere 00:24:30.430 --> 00:24:32.930 in your area But it might work in some places 00:24:32.930 --> 00:24:34.750 where you've got like a depression or something 00:24:34.750 --> 00:24:37.789 or just water it more But yeah swamp milkweed 00:24:37.789 --> 00:24:41.240 is a good one as well, but common milkweed I 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:43.500 will tell you, I challenge everyone listening 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:46.119 to this podcast, when the common milkweed is 00:24:46.119 --> 00:24:49.400 in bloom, go out there and smell it. It is the 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:52.839 best smelling plant I think we have on the planet. 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:55.559 I mean, I seriously believe that. It smells so 00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:58.859 great when it's in bloom. It's surprising. We're 00:24:58.859 --> 00:25:00.839 gonna find some milkweed. We're gonna get it 00:25:00.839 --> 00:25:03.940 planted. It may be a little bit ugly. I have 00:25:03.940 --> 00:25:06.220 enough room. I can put it out of the way. That's 00:25:06.220 --> 00:25:09.539 fine So but I'm gonna watch and we're gonna look 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:12.740 for those monarchs. I can't wait Alright next 00:25:12.740 --> 00:25:17.400 on my list Pesticide use what are we going to 00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:20.960 do? A lot of people live in places like I do 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:23.980 where the county goes around and sprays the side 00:25:23.980 --> 00:25:26.920 of the roads and not only do they do that but 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:29.720 they do it on days where it's too hot for the 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:32.819 chemicals they're using so there's a lot of drift 00:25:32.819 --> 00:25:37.839 and and we get 2 ,4 -D and Roundup everywhere. 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:42.000 As a wildlife biologist who does as part of my 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.809 career have used chemical to Alter the landscape 00:25:45.809 --> 00:25:47.970 to get something better out there than what we've 00:25:47.970 --> 00:25:50.849 had or to deal with invasive species or even 00:25:50.849 --> 00:25:54.549 to get the site prepped and ready to go so that 00:25:54.549 --> 00:25:57.869 we don't have to use it anymore. You know, so 00:25:57.869 --> 00:26:00.450 we've gone from a soy say a soybean field to 00:26:00.450 --> 00:26:03.230 a pollinator planting. Well, we have used, you 00:26:03.230 --> 00:26:05.930 know, herbicides to get us from one point to 00:26:05.930 --> 00:26:08.569 the next point. But then in the future, you know, 00:26:08.569 --> 00:26:11.890 you're you're taking that chemical use almost 00:26:11.890 --> 00:26:14.069 totally out of that. project once you've got 00:26:14.069 --> 00:26:16.589 the good pollinator habitat established. I think 00:26:16.589 --> 00:26:18.569 that has to be a local thing. Again, Eric, like 00:26:18.569 --> 00:26:21.430 I said earlier, it has to be a local. We have 00:26:21.430 --> 00:26:25.730 to talk to our leaders in our cities and in our 00:26:25.730 --> 00:26:28.609 counties. I don't know as much about the Bee 00:26:28.609 --> 00:26:31.730 City program as I probably should. I just know 00:26:31.730 --> 00:26:33.750 that two of our cooperators who are both working 00:26:33.750 --> 00:26:37.109 with cities have both signed the Bee City Pledge 00:26:37.109 --> 00:26:40.690 and that they are working as a Bee City. My guess 00:26:40.690 --> 00:26:43.769 would be that there's something in there. When 00:26:43.769 --> 00:26:46.750 we have mayors sign the Mayor's Monarch Challenge, 00:26:47.109 --> 00:26:52.750 we ask for things like judicious use of herbicides 00:26:52.750 --> 00:26:54.829 if they need to use them or pesticides if they 00:26:54.829 --> 00:26:57.170 need to use them. But I can't even imagine being 00:26:57.170 --> 00:26:59.670 in a city like Houston, for example. I was visiting 00:26:59.670 --> 00:27:02.670 a friend and they were coming around and spraying 00:27:02.670 --> 00:27:06.319 for mosquitoes. She's like, well, we have to 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:08.380 go in now. And I'm like, why are we going in? 00:27:08.519 --> 00:27:09.900 She goes, we have to go in now because they're 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:11.859 spraying. And I'm like, what are they spraying? 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:14.099 And why do I need to go inside? And what's happening 00:27:14.099 --> 00:27:17.640 here? To me, that's more of a local situation 00:27:17.640 --> 00:27:20.099 for people. And that's where people should get 00:27:20.099 --> 00:27:22.759 involved. I mean, I know where my legislators 00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:25.500 are. I go down to our Capitol and talk to them 00:27:25.500 --> 00:27:28.279 about conservation issues. I'm not afraid to 00:27:28.279 --> 00:27:31.109 do that. And I think... Once they learn your 00:27:31.109 --> 00:27:34.289 story and they can put a face to it, I think 00:27:34.289 --> 00:27:36.269 it makes a lot of difference. There are places 00:27:36.269 --> 00:27:38.670 around here that do the same thing with spraying 00:27:38.670 --> 00:27:41.190 the mosquitoes. I haven't talked to the administrators 00:27:41.190 --> 00:27:44.349 directly. It's not in a city that I live in. 00:27:45.170 --> 00:27:49.390 But what I have been told and seen in the news 00:27:49.390 --> 00:27:51.950 is they think they're fine because they're spraying 00:27:51.950 --> 00:27:54.700 at night. So they'll actually take helicopters 00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:57.579 at night and fly over huge neighborhoods and 00:27:57.579 --> 00:28:00.019 just bomb the whole thing for mosquitoes. And 00:28:00.019 --> 00:28:01.720 they say, well, your bees aren't flying at night, 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:05.960 so they're fine. Is there no residue left anywhere 00:28:05.960 --> 00:28:09.160 that bees are going to get into? Let's think 00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:11.799 through this, people. And I don't know. I am 00:28:11.799 --> 00:28:14.940 not as educated on this as some folks really 00:28:14.940 --> 00:28:18.160 are. You know, as a as kind of a habitat person, 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:21.430 I deal mostly with habitat. projects and plantings 00:28:21.430 --> 00:28:24.269 and seed mixes, that type of thing. As a young 00:28:24.269 --> 00:28:26.369 person, when I first started my career as a wildlife 00:28:26.369 --> 00:28:29.630 biologist, I netted Indiana bats in Missouri. 00:28:30.970 --> 00:28:33.329 And netting bats that are out feeding at night, 00:28:33.450 --> 00:28:36.230 that are eating those insects, that gives me 00:28:36.230 --> 00:28:38.390 a little bit of pause. What's happening there? 00:28:38.549 --> 00:28:40.990 What's that food chain look like? What are we 00:28:40.990 --> 00:28:43.799 doing? Maybe an unintended consequence. All right, 00:28:43.900 --> 00:28:46.440 enough preaching. I didn't mean to go down any 00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:48.599 kind of negative road here. Really this is all 00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:52.900 positive because your group, the Bee and Butterfly 00:28:52.900 --> 00:28:56.119 Habitat Fund, is doing good things for honeybees 00:28:56.119 --> 00:28:59.440 and other native pollinators and that is a fantastic 00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:02.420 thing. And I want you to leave us with some kind 00:29:02.420 --> 00:29:06.180 of a good wrap up here. Of how we can help whether 00:29:06.180 --> 00:29:08.420 it's and we'll put a link to your website by 00:29:08.420 --> 00:29:10.759 the way in the show notes if people want to donate 00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:13.539 Or just get more information they can get it 00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:16.700 there. But how else can we all help? Yeah, that 00:29:16.700 --> 00:29:20.299 is a good question. I think Everyone can do something 00:29:20.299 --> 00:29:22.720 and if you're in a situation where you can't 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:27.579 plant something good for For your bees for the 00:29:27.579 --> 00:29:29.920 other pollinators then you can't donate, you 00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:31.680 know through our program and something good will 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:35.079 get planted we are such a We're a pretty lean 00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:38.180 organization, so we work pretty quickly on projects. 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:41.279 We do a Euro site prep with the landowner and 00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:45.119 then pretty quickly that habitat turns right 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:48.619 in. We turn it right into projects. We really 00:29:48.619 --> 00:29:51.559 try to spend every dollar we can on getting more 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:53.799 great habitat in the ground. In the end, that's 00:29:53.799 --> 00:29:56.160 what makes the difference. I go to many of these 00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:58.920 beekeeping meetings and they talk about pesticides, 00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:01.700 they talk about Varroa, they talk about a lot 00:30:01.700 --> 00:30:04.319 of different things and they always end up in 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:06.180 the end saying something about forage, but it's 00:30:06.180 --> 00:30:07.660 always a little small something. And I think 00:30:07.660 --> 00:30:10.119 to myself, isn't that kind of the building block? 00:30:10.339 --> 00:30:13.539 Isn't the building block us having health as 00:30:13.539 --> 00:30:15.779 a hive, you know, being healthy, being able to 00:30:15.779 --> 00:30:19.539 eat well, having a lot of diversity. So to me, 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:22.039 having this great habitat out there is just, 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:25.720 it's priceless really. And we are funded 100 00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:29.079 % by donations as an organization. And the more 00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:31.279 acres we can get in the ground, the more likely 00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:34.279 we are to benefit bees. butterflies and all the 00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:36.720 other pollinators. I totally agree with all that 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:40.180 and I think part of our problem is things like 00:30:40.180 --> 00:30:42.799 Varroa we feel like we can do something about 00:30:42.799 --> 00:30:46.599 okay I can measure it, I can treat it, I can 00:30:46.599 --> 00:30:49.400 measure it again, I can see what we've done but 00:30:49.400 --> 00:30:52.039 my bees are flying for a couple of miles maybe 00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:57.819 to forage. I admit it feels out of our control 00:30:57.819 --> 00:31:00.799 because the bees are going everywhere and I can't 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:05.299 control My neighbor a half a mile from here that's 00:31:05.299 --> 00:31:09.000 planting that roundup ready alfalfa and the reason 00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:12.400 he does it is so he can bomb it with glyphosate 00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:15.599 all the time okay i can't do anything about that 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:18.819 i've talked to these neighbors. We try to remain 00:31:18.819 --> 00:31:23.119 friends and. There's only so much i can do it 00:31:23.119 --> 00:31:25.400 maybe that's why it gets ignored because we feel 00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:28.470 like we can't do anything but. You're at least 00:31:28.470 --> 00:31:30.589 a place where we can do something and we can 00:31:30.589 --> 00:31:33.609 get some direction or we can make a little donation 00:31:33.609 --> 00:31:37.470 or something That helps and Eric we do have a 00:31:37.470 --> 00:31:40.390 great We have a great resource on our website 00:31:40.390 --> 00:31:42.569 where our website just got revamped So I would 00:31:42.569 --> 00:31:44.089 love for everybody to come in and take a look 00:31:44.089 --> 00:31:47.609 at it give us some feedback But we have a habitat 00:31:47.609 --> 00:31:50.190 establishment guide for establishing habitat. 00:31:50.589 --> 00:31:52.950 There's Lots of different ways people can do 00:31:52.950 --> 00:31:55.930 it. They can do it with herbicide, without herbicide. 00:31:56.369 --> 00:31:58.509 There's all different options for getting your 00:31:58.509 --> 00:32:00.829 site prepared and getting it ready to go. But 00:32:00.829 --> 00:32:03.569 overall, it's a pretty good guide, pretty comprehensive 00:32:03.569 --> 00:32:06.170 guide for people to get habitat established. 00:32:07.410 --> 00:32:10.180 And anyone can use that. Anyone can plant something. 00:32:10.359 --> 00:32:12.259 I think there's room on every piece of property 00:32:12.259 --> 00:32:15.779 for something something that will benefit Pollinators 00:32:15.779 --> 00:32:18.420 on every property and if you don't have a property 00:32:18.420 --> 00:32:20.259 and you're living in a city and you don't have 00:32:20.259 --> 00:32:24.099 a yard and you know We absolutely would use donations 00:32:24.099 --> 00:32:26.279 and turn them into Habitat projects somewhere 00:32:26.279 --> 00:32:28.440 and just spreading the word, you know letting 00:32:28.440 --> 00:32:31.339 people know that the larger commercial beekeepers 00:32:31.339 --> 00:32:34.160 that we do work with, we try to provide them 00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:36.400 these flyers so that they can hand them to the 00:32:36.400 --> 00:32:38.500 people they have their bee yards on and say, 00:32:38.619 --> 00:32:40.920 hey, it's really important because they get questions. 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:42.500 If they don't bring their bees back, they'll 00:32:42.500 --> 00:32:44.420 get questioned about why aren't the bees back 00:32:44.420 --> 00:32:46.859 this year? Well, because, you know, you've got 00:32:46.859 --> 00:32:48.799 a desert here of nothing. You know, it's all 00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:51.200 just grass and there's the bees aren't finding 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:54.259 enough to forage on. So we can work with anyone. 00:32:54.380 --> 00:32:56.819 Like you said, bees move a little planting in 00:32:56.819 --> 00:33:00.769 your city park, a little planting. In a conservation 00:33:00.769 --> 00:33:02.789 area, a little planting, we've done plantings 00:33:02.789 --> 00:33:05.869 in the prisons. I mean, we will do plantings 00:33:05.869 --> 00:33:08.329 anywhere someone is ready to get the site ready 00:33:08.329 --> 00:33:12.990 and work with us and provide habitat. So we're 00:33:12.990 --> 00:33:15.410 happy to work with anybody on projects. And I 00:33:15.410 --> 00:33:18.349 wish we were more out west yet, but we're not 00:33:18.349 --> 00:33:21.789 there yet. We're in 14 states now, kind of in 00:33:21.789 --> 00:33:24.740 this smack in the middle of the US. So if you're 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:27.579 in the Midwest, you can get help. You can probably 00:33:27.579 --> 00:33:30.440 even get free seeds and things. If you're not, 00:33:30.519 --> 00:33:32.700 you can get some good information and you can 00:33:32.700 --> 00:33:34.779 donate and you can help out with this whole cause. 00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:37.819 Anyway, Elsa, thank you. It's the Bee and Butterfly 00:33:37.819 --> 00:33:41.660 Habitat Fund and that's beeandbutterflyhabitatfund 00:33:41.660 --> 00:33:45.880 .org .org. Correct. All right. Thanks. Take care. 00:33:48.630 --> 00:33:51.710 Thanks for joining us on Be Love Beekeeping presented 00:33:51.710 --> 00:33:54.789 by Man Lake. If you like this content I hope 00:33:54.789 --> 00:33:57.670 you'll share it with a friend, follow and subscribe 00:33:57.670 --> 00:34:01.150 to this podcast, and even sign up for our newsletter 00:34:01.150 --> 00:34:04.519 at BeLoveBeekeeping .com Also, just a shout out 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:07.079 to Vita B Health for their support, we appreciate 00:34:07.079 --> 00:34:10.099 them. Vita's Varroa Control range of products 00:34:10.099 --> 00:34:14.380 includes Epistan, Epigard, and now Veroxen, Extended 00:34:14.380 --> 00:34:18.260 Release Oxalic Acid Strips. Thanks guys. And 00:34:18.260 --> 00:34:20.719 remember, if you're not just in it for the honey 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:23.699 or the money, you're in it for the love. See 00:34:23.699 --> 00:34:24.480 you next week.