Pollinator Support
The Threats Facing Bees
Bees play an important role in the overall health of the ecosystem and they are vital to human agriculture and food production. One of the biggest threats to the bee population is widespread pesticide usage. Bees absorb toxins from pesticides directly through their exoskeleton, from contact with tainted nectar and insecticidal dust on their pollen-collecting hairs. Pesticide intake can result in symptoms such as disorientation, paralysis, and death.
At MEVO we are working to create a more sustainable system of agriculture that does not rely upon the usage of pesticides. Through the creation of sustainable farms, such as MEVO’s Fresh Roots Farm, we are working to provide pollinators with a source of non-contaminated pollen and improve the health of the bee population.
Our Beekeeping Practice
We do our best to follow natural and biodynamic beekeeping practices. To do this, we focus on keeping our bees healthy through natural methods (avoiding antibiotics and other chemical agents), planting pollinator meadows for an abundance of forage, and keeping an attentive eye on their health. On a seasonal basis, we may be: feeding our bees during the dearth period, inspecting our hives, harvesting honey, and running educational programs and workshops for people of all ages. Without bees, our plates would not be as colorful or nourishing, and our ecosystems would be in disarray. We are proud to keep these amazing pollinators!
We have paused our beekeeping program due to local environmental factors, but check back in to see how we will be supporting our local pollinators in the future! We hope to bring back the program after we have fortified our farms with enough forage to satisfy our hives, as they are not able to get proper forage from our immediate environment.
Sustaining our Pollinators
We have noticed a lack of forage in our local area for our honey bees and local pollinators. Forage is anything that flowers and enables bees and other pollinating insects to obtain nectar (minerals and sugars) and protein (pollen). We are doubling down on our efforts to cultivate more forage, not only for our honey bees, but for our local pollinators, birds, butterflies, wasps, and more! Our favorite pollinator-friendly plants include (but are not limited to):
Any plant in the mint family (Anise Hyssop, Lemon Balm, Tulsi, etc)
Chamomile
Wildflower seed mix (we like Johnny’s Selected Seeds ‘Bee Feed Mix’)
Calendula
Thyme
Sage
Dandelions (we intentionally plant them!)
Sunflowers (check the description before ordering some sunflowers are bred to be pollen-less)
Lavender
Borage
Bee Balm
Asters