In recognition of PYM’s Witness on Climate Change, Birmingham Meeting‘s Peace and Social Concerns Committee has chosen to focus on climate change and the environment this year. In exploring programs we might promote, we wanted to make sure that we chose something that our Children and Youth would have an interest in. After consulting with the Youth Committee and educating ourselves about beekeeping, a proposal was made for our Business Meeting to purchase two beehives to be placed on our Meetinghouse grounds.
Nurturing bees has many benefits to the environment. Not only are bees critical to agriculture and growing food, accounting for as much as 30% of the world’s food production, they’re necessary for wild plants as well. It’s estimated that as many as 90% of wild plants rely on pollinators like bees to survive and thrive. Without bees, many of these plants would die off.
In addition, beekeeping teaches kids about the natural life cycles in the natural world around them. It’s an excellent way to get children to care about the environment and want to be a part of taking care of it.
Birmingham Meeting is fortunate in having two beekeepers as members: Jarl Mork and Julie Senko. Julie agreed to maintain the Bee Yard and Jarl agreed to help. The proposal was approved and funded with enthusiasm. In the middle of April the bees arrived and are happily buzzing around the neighborhood gathering the abundant pollen.
