As 2022 has taken off with a running start, I’ve found myself searching for hopeful things happening this year.
February has historically been the snowiest month of the year. As our climate continues to shift, the unpredictability of the weather - which in winter can also barometer my mood - makes this search for the hopeful more of an investigation.
I started this investigation with the obvious: holidays. What holiday is in February? Valentine’s Day. I read all the pages on the history of Saint Valentine and how the Saint Valentine that we celebrate today was martyred for his radical ministry to persecuted Christians. Noble indeed. But the thing that made me pause in my investigation was the note that said that Saint Valentine is the patron saint of beekeepers.
I’m fascinated by beekeepers and bees.
New Jersey alone is home to 12 species of native bees and honeybees. According to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, “bees are the most important pollinators in most ecosystems. They facilitate the reproduction and improve seed sets for half of New Jersey’s top fruit and vegetables.
Throughout history, bees have provided humans with products such as honey, beeswax, pollen, venom, and dietary supplements. In New Jersey, we benefit from bee pollination as they help sustain many crops, such as apples, cranberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, cucumbers, and watermelons.
Honeybees pollinate about a third of the food Americans eat. And honeybees have been plagued by a variety of introduced insect and bacterial parasites, so today it is extremely rare to find natural colonies. This makes beekeeping an essential activity, not only for agriculture culture but also for anyone who has a backyard vegetable garden and flower beds or trees in their yard.” (From https://www.njbeekeepers.org/ )
Beekeepers take care of bees so bees can take care of themselves, and in return us! They do so by providing bees with hives for shelter, medications feeding them, treating them for any pest problems, inspecting the hives regularly, and providing the bee colonies with queens.
So far this year there are over 3,000 registered beekeepers in the state of New Jersey. What a hopeful thought.
Soon our youth will be exploring the realities of food loss and lack of access to food on a global and local scale. With this reality and the effects of climate change, especially during a pandemic where consumerism and our carbon footprint has increased exponentially, it feels right to spread some seasonal warmth to the patron saint of beekeeping. This February, this Valentine’s Day, let us give thanks for the hope found in beekeepers, the hope found in those seeking to care for some of the smallest creatures in our midst that make the biggest impact.
Thank you, beekeepers, for your hands that hold the food on our tables.