Bees With Ben

PODCAST EPISODE 44: Dara Scott from Hive Alive, Galway, Ireland

Since COVID hit, the world has been forced to look at health in a whole new way. For many of us, time in lockdown has provided some space to adopt some new healthy habits — be that eating, exercise, or practicing mindfulness. Personally, I have adopted a bunch of new recipes, learning what specific ingredients might help me feel better, lighter and more productive. Of course, this interest in healthy eating for general wellbeing isn’t a new phenomenon, and Australia is hugely lucky to be home to an abundance of delicious fresh produce. But did you know that bees are also taking time to think about new foods that can increase their health, happiness and productivity? Please welcome the fantastic and incredibly well-schooled Dara Scott all the way from Galway, Ireland, to chat with us about the benefits of Hive Alive’s miraculous seaweed supplements for your bee colony!

Every now and then a beekeeping product comes along that really blows my mind. Hive Alive is one of those products. As the number 1 feed supplement for honeybees worldwide, is the only feed supplement scientifically proven to deliver stronger colonies, increase honey production, keep disease levels low and improve over-winter success. It does so by ensuring intestinal wellbeing in your colony through a blend of unique seaweeds (yes, you heard right!), which have been scientifically selected for honeybee health due to their remarkable properties: anti-fungal, immune boosting, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, pre-biotic — what’s not to love! Interestingly, seaweeds are added to numerous animal (and human!) feeds as they have been shown to increase productivity, general heath, gut health, immune function and nutrition. Superfood, no doubt!

Dara and I spoke in-depth about Hive Alive, why bees thrive from healthy diets as much as humans do, and our special ancestral connection. 

 https://www.hivealivebees.com

PODCAST EPISODE 43: Anika Molesworth, farmer, scientist, storyteller, Wilyakali Country and Melbourne, Australia

Anika Molesworth – farmer, scientist, storyteller, soon to be author – is a truly inspirational force. With an agricultural science career in that has taken her around the globe, and many awards, degrees and accolades under her belt, Anika is fighting the good fight against climate change. Her motivation is personal, and stems from her life experience growing up on a farm in rural Australia; she now speaks and writes on resilient agro-ecological systems and helps farmers around the world respond to climate change in a way that builds their capacity while looking after the environment. For these reasons and more, I am thrilled to welcome Anika to the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast for episode 43.

Anika recalls the transition she experienced as a child from living in the city of Melbourne – where food arrived in the kitchen via grocery bags from the supermarket – to moving with her family to a farm 1000 kms away on Wilyakali Country in far west New South Wales. Here, life was completely different to what she had experienced before, as was the source of the family’s daily meals: “City buildings and cars were replaced with open skies and paddocks with kangaroos. Food suddenly became something that did not originate from a supermarket, but from the farm that surrounded me.”

Falling in love with the landscape, she understood the privilege and benefit of having a connection to growing food that would nourish people. On the farm, her family learnt the ways of the land, an intimate experience that involved unravelling secrets and knowledge about the soil, the local flora and fauna. The very genuine, hands-on education developed a sense of belonging for Anika and her family in their new home and community. Touched by a ten-year drought, Anika, her family and the local community waited and waited for the rains to arrive between 2000 and 2010. This inspired Anika to research climate change, and to find out what was behind this devastating and extreme weather condition that was wreaking havoc on the farming community and natural environment.

Anika Molesworth is a wildly positive force in Australian and international agriculture. She is widely recognised as a “Future Shaper”, a warrior of sustainability, a community leader, and a game changer for agricultural science. Tune in to hear Anika and I discuss life on the farm, her incredible vision, and how we can all do our part to fight the war on climate change.

https://www.anikamolesworth.com

PODCAST EPISODE 42: SezzaJai Sykes, beekeeper and poet, Alice Springs, Australia

A poem called ‘Exquisite Sensitivity’ by poet and beekeeper SezzaJai Sykes reads:

We all notice different things

Our pleasure and discomfort so personal.

I am Bee

I am orientated to the dark light center

And my edges are unique

I like my hive warm

I like the toffee honies

I prefer guard duty

I notice the dead pass out

I have 10,000 lovers

And long for points of balance.

Beekeepers are usually much more than just their job title. Beekeepers are, in my experience, complex souls, who have had ‘past lives’ (other careers and alternate life directions); who often found bees due to some kind of existential understanding that we as humans are deeply connected to the natural world. As bees epitomise that connection, it doesn’t surprise me that the vast majority of the beekeepers I know are sensitive, compassionate, creative and, in different ways, spiritual. There have been a handful of truly unique moments on the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast, and speaking and listening to SezzaJai Sykes – a beekeeper, poet, and “mystery navigator” – for episode 42 is one of them.

SezzaJai Sykes is one of 70 beekeepers living in Alice Springs (Mparntwe). For those outside Australia, Alice Springs is situated in the centre of Australia and is the third largest town in the Northern Territory. Characterised by red- and ochre-coloured sands, stunning and resilient flora, weeping gum trees and huge blue skies, this unique and picturesque desert location experiences extreme conditions – as SezzaJai explains, temperatures rise to 40 degrees Celsius during the day and drop to zero degrees at night. This makes ‘Alice’ a place with unique beekeeping requirements. In turn, the gorgeous yet dangerous (for bees) Rainbow Bee-eater is an issue facing local beekeepers.

Having worked extensively with bees in the UK, France, and New Zealand, SezzaJai now lives in Alice Springs where she has kept her bees, and written and published her beautiful poetry, for the last four years. Not to be missed, tune in to hear SezzaJai and I talk about keeping bees in central Australia, poetry, and finding inspiration in the natural world. https://sezzajaisykes.australianauthors.store

PODCAST EPISODE 41: Drew Maddison, beekeeper and co-owner of Ministry of Chocolate, Croydon, Australia

Other than bees and honey of course, there are two other things that I love dearly – small business and CHOCOLATE! Ministry of Chocolate is a family-owned and run business based on Croydon, Victoria, producing high-quality chocolate made on-site and supplied to a number of businesses across Melbourne, including luxury hotels, wineries and specialty chocolate stores. The Ministry started out at local farmer’s markets across the city, before husband-and-wife team Drew and Karin Maddison found it increasingly difficult to produce their wares at home with two young boys wanting to taste test EVERYTHING! At that time, they took the brave but worthwhile leap and opened a large-scale kitchen. (Believe me, if I were their sons, I too would want to taste test all their delicious chocolates!) So, from one sweet tooth to another (and I know there are a lot of you out there), I am blissful to introduce you to co-owner of the Ministry of Chocolate and beekeeper Drew Maddison for episode 41 of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast.

For Drew, his love of chocolate started when he was just a little tacker. The smell of melted chocolate would hover over his schoolyard from a local chocolate shop; and Roald Dahl’s Charlie and Chocolate Factory was a definite well-loved read in his bookshelf. When Drew and Karin met while working for a large-scale bakery in Melbourne, they never imagined that some years down the line they would be running a high-end chocolate business together with a penchant for local produce: “We pride ourselves on using locally grown ingredients where possible. Our strawberries are form the Mornington Peninsula, our Almonds from South Australia and even our Salt from the Murrey River. But our pride and joy is being able to use our every own honey in our honeycomb chunks and bars.” Drew and Karin keep their own hives in the outdoor courtyard section of their factory space in Melbourne’s east. And they LOVE their bees: “It’s great having bees – it’s similar to watching goldfish in a tank, however there are 60,000 of them, and their much smarter too! Also knowing your helping the environment and supporting the bee numbers is important to us.”

Tune in to hear Drew and I chat about all things chocolate, bees, running a small business and our joyful business collaborations.

www.ministryofchocolate.com.au 

www.bensbees.com.au

PODCAST EPISODE 40: James Dorey, scientist, PhD candidate, and re-discoverer of the native Pharohylaeus lactiferous bee species

We do a lot of talking about the wonderous, superhero honeybee. However, Australia is home to a huge 1654 species of native bees that don’t get anywhere near the attention they deserve. Coming in all shapes, sizes and colours, with a range of behaviours and living habits, native bees are fascinating, nuanced and mystifying creatures, even for beekeepers. In some ground-breaking news that’s hot off the press just this week, an incredible re-discovery has been made in Queensland: a native bee species, Pharohylaeus lactiferous or the rare cloaked bee, was found for the first time in 100 years! So, I am completely thrilled to bring James Dorey – the scientist and PhD candidate who found the cloaked bee after its long hiding – to the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast for episode 40.

As James described recently in his article on The Conversation, the cloaked bee (its name, “pharo” meaning “cloaked”), has three abdominal segments that overlay one another in a cloak formation. And as a bee wearing a big cloak might suggest, this mysterious little insect has always been tricky to find – between 1900 and 1923, two bee collectors found six specimens of P. lactiferous, but no more have been discovered until now. James describes: “I found the cloaked bee P. lactiferus during a major east coast sampling effort of more than 225 unique sites. The discovery, and what I learnt from it, helped me find more specimens at two additional sites. It also made me wonder why P. lactiferus had been missing for so long. Is it naturally rare, hard to find, or perhaps threatened?” Interestingly, the cloaked bee was found on two plants, both with fiery red flowers: the firewheel tree and the Illawarra flame tree. As bees don’t see red, red plants are often pollinated by birds, and scientists therefore potentially don’t sample this type of flora. Who knew, this would be where James would make his remarkable discovery.

Tune in to hear James and I discuss the fascinating and rare cloaked bee, how James made his discovery, and the wonderous world of native bees!

https://www.jamesdoreyphotography.com.au/

PODCAST EPISODE 39: Jean Tikram, beekeeper and business co-owner of Waitika Farm,Wairuku, Rakiraki, Fiji

COVID-19 has sparked many questions about why we do the things we do. For some of us, this has meant reassessing some pretty big stuff in our lives, including our careers. With redundancies and a lack of certainty around employment for some, maybe this is the time to ask ourselves what we really want to be doing, and why. For Jean and Anil Tikram of Waitika Farm in Wairuku, Rakiraki, Fiji, the motivation for starting a bee farm was always heartfelt and from a place of positive change, as described in an interview for the Fiji Sun newspaper: “The motivation for starting a bee farm was initially to keep ourselves meaningfully occupied with something that could make a positive contribution to the environment as well as something that could perhaps have turned into a small business.” It is this remarkable positivity that makes me especially delighted to introduce you to Jean Tikram for episode 39 of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast.

Waitika Farm is a honey farm in Wairuku, Rakiraki, Fiji, that is brimming with a magnificent array of aromatic herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, tarragon, basil varieties, and strawberries (loved by humans and bees alike!). As a business, the couple keep and maintain their own hives, harvest honey, as well as making bee-related goodies such as beeswax wraps, honey butter, lip balms, candles, among other products. And as Jean and her husband Anil’s farm has grown, that positive impact has grown too, flourishing into profits for the couple and their business. “It was trial and error all the way at the beginning but the deeper we got involved the more interesting and rewarding it became! Bees are incredibly smart creatures and we are very privileged to be able to work with them,” Jean told the Fiji Sun. This positive approach was completely evident when I visited the couple and their farm last year, just before COVID hit, and it infiltrates the way the couple run their business and deal with the challenges that come with an unpredictable environment, a pandemic and the usual trials of running a small business.

Tune in to hear Jean and I discuss daily life on Waitika Farm, the aggressive nature of bees in Fiji, what brought the couple to beekeeping, and some big challenges to their business (namely, Cyclone Winston) and how they were overcome.

https://www.facebook.com/Waitika-Farm-Fiji-589613347735089

PODCAST EPISODE 38: Cindy Moore from Sweet Cindy’s Honey, New York and Florida, USA

It is obvious when talking to Cindy Moore from Sweet Cindy’s Honey that bees hold a very special place in her heart. Not only do they provide one of the greatest services on earth by pollinating the crops that we eat, they also bring great love and joy – quite literally for this US-based beekeeper: “I met Charles [Moore] in 2005 at an organic farm where I was working. He was pollinating the farmers fruits and vegetables there. He offered me a dollar more an hour to come work for him and I took it. A year later he offered me a ring and I said yes and been beekeeping together ever since.” And together they have built their business through thick and thin, falling more in love with bees by the day – in one incredible story, a wild Africanised bee swarm chased Charles a mile, stinging him over 500 times before he could finally be reunited with Cindy in their bee mobile. For the pure love of all things bee-related, I am beyond delighted to bring you Cindy Moore, of Cindy and Charles Moore, of Sweet Cindy’s Honey from the United States of America for episode 36 of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast.

Sweet Cindy’s Honey is a beekeeping, pollination and honey production business based in New York and Florida in the USA. Cindy and Charles are what is known as migratory beekeepers – they live in New York during the summer and Florida during the winter – sounds like bliss to me! Their honey is 100% from the United States, unadulterated and unfiltered, sourced from the Moore farms, which are owned and operated by Charles who runs over 1200 hives across two locations. Cindy and Charles are dedicated to making fresh, all-natural honey with a variety of different high-quality flavours. The reviews of their product are brimming with love and praise, making Sweet Cindy’s Honey one of if not THE best honey in western New York.

And for Cindy, beekeeping didn’t just lead her to Charles, the love of her life, it also led her to a profound understanding of why bees are so damn special. Loving everything about bees (except for being stung), Cindy reflects: “These little creatures have taught me that we all have a purpose in this world from the microscopic things to the biggest.”

For all these glorious reasons, tune in to hear Cindy and I talk about the life and times of a commercial migratory beekeeper, issues beekeepers face with honey coming from China through Vietnam, and the personal journeys that are beekeeping careers. https://sweetcindyshoney.com 

PODCAST EPISODE 37: Ben Moore’s 99 Astonishing Bee Facts

Can you tell me, what is the size of a bee brain?

How many BILLIONS of dollars do bees bring to the world economy each year?

How do bees keep their hives at 34 degrees Celsius?

How is that bees “dance for their dinner”?

Do bees need shut eye, just like humans?

In ancient Greece, which famous god was known for beekeeping?

Is “piping” music to a beekeeper’s ears?

Bees can be gynandromorphic, but what does that mean?

In summer, what is the proportion of bees to humans in London?

Bees are endlessly fascinating and highly complex creatures, and, in turn, there are a million and one reasons to love them. Probably more. So, to make a list of astonishing facts about bees is a pretty pleasurable task for a humungous bee lover; it’s sort of like shifting through the encyclopaedic quantities of bee-related titbits I keep on hand to find a selection of the best. You see, I often find myself jotting down little notes on paper or in my phone about why bees make the world a more special place. I find these facts in all different places. From the internet, to media sites, science research, word of mouth and my experiences in the field. So here we have it, for episode 37 of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast, I will be presenting you, my dear bee community, with a whopping 99 facts that highlight the extraordinary nature of bees.

I don’t want to give too much away, but these facts touch on economics, environmental sustainability, anatomy, social structures, genetics, among many other fields. There are more than a few odd balls that will really knock your socks off! Heart-warming, mind-blowing, stomach-churning, ground-breaking – bees are much more than what meets the eye, and I hope this list of 99 of my favourite facts about bees show them off as the insect superstars they truly are. As the biologist Karl Von Frisch wrote: “The bee’s life is like a magic well, the more you draw from it the more it fills with water.”

Tune is to hear me, Ben Moore, give you 99 reasons to love bees even more than you already do!

https://www.bensbees.com.au/

PODCAST EPISODE 36: Pam Vroland from Silvan Estate Raspberry Farm, Victoria

What is bulbous like a bee, but any number of pinks or reds or blues? What tastes like heaven, or maybe makes your face squish up with exhilarating tartness? What stains your fingertips, your tongue, and sometimes your t-shirt? What makes the best edible summer treasure hunt? What turns your smoothies fluorescent, is packed with antioxidants, and makes your cakes/breakfasts/desserts the most delightful little bundles of joy? Berries of course! As a lover of B-related gifts of nature, I am very happy to introduce you to the one and only “berry queen” for episode 36 of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast: Pam Vroland from Silvan Estate raspberry farm. For the past five years, some of my darling bees have called Pam’s glorious berry farm home; she loves them, and they love her and her brightly coloured morsels of deliciousness.

And my bees and I are not Pam’s only fans. In fact, Pam and her farm have garnered huge and deserved attention from celebrity chefs, locals and media alike. In an article in The Age, Master Chef’s Matt Preston declared that Silvan Estate produced “possibly the world's reigning raspberries”! And that’s a big call (but one I am willing to stand by). Preston goes on to describe the many (food) sites where Pam’s raspberries could be found, including a generous handful of sophisticated and delicious dishes from a number of highly acclaimed restaurants. It was he who brought attention to her reign as well-known and well-loved berry royalty.

Pam has earnt this reputation through her intimate knowledge of the environment at Silvan and of the methods needed to grow such perfect and glorious fruits. She understands the climate, the soil, the impact of local wildlife, the compost needed, the CARE needed. She knows which berries get eaten strait from the bush, and which ones are made into jam. Pam loves of raspberries, and she knows each type like a dear friend – the Bogong, the Chilliwack, the Tulameen, and Serpell’s Willamette (to name just a few).

Tune in to hear Pam and I talk about the intricacies of growing berries in the gorgeous Yarra Valley.

PODCAST EPISODE 35: Vanessa Kwiatkowski, Melbourne City Rooftop Honey, Melbourne, Australia

I remember when I was travelling in Europe, especially while in Paris and London, I visited a number of rooftop bee gardens. It was magical to be gazing over a new city, full of the dreaminess that comes with travel, surrounded by the buzzing of happy bees. Here, environmentally minded keepers, who understood the necessity of bees living in the world’s cities, were resourceful and passionate: finding the space for bees to live happily and fruitfully; producing unique honey blends, often for use in local restaurants and cafes. When I got back to Melbourne, I realised we had our very own rooftop bee gardens and beehives. It filled me with joy knowing that beekeepers here also understood the need for bees in the big smoke. I don’t think I would be mistaken when I say that Melbourne City Rooftop Honey is one, if not the most, loved and respected in this part of the country. For that reason, I am delighted to introduce you to Vanessa Kwiatkowski from Melbourne City Rooftop Honey for episode 35 of the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast.

Melbourne City Rooftop Honey started beekeeping activities in 2010 and have received overwhelming love and support from the local community and businesses. As they state on their website: “Our plan is to put beehives on rooftops (or gardens) in the City and hopefully one day, each and every suburb of Melbourne. With your help, we will get there.” Rooftop Honey installs, maintains and cares for the bees in sky-high city locations through a mix of conventional and natural beekeeping methods. Hives are sponsored by local businesses to keep this maintenance afloat, and also to help pay for new hives to be rolled out in new locations. Another interesting fact is that the rooftop colonies were all once swarms, which the good folk at Rooftop Honey caught and then re-homed in these new urban positions – I bet those swarms didn’t realise they would be lucky enough to end up in a new outdoor penthouse suite when they caused all that commotion! Rooftop Honey currently manage over 30 hives in the Melbourne CBD, and a total of 120 hives in the Melbourne fringe and suburbs.

At a time when we are all pretty introspective about the ways we chose to live, we must turn that good thinking outward and into our local communities. As Rooftop Honey state, “Looking to the future, as we expand on concepts of growing food in our cities & making them cooler, greener & more sustainable — It is vital to protect honey bees and include them in our cities and sprawling urban landscapes.” That is a concept that warms my heart. From the rooftops of Paris and London, Toronto and New York, Hong Kong and Melbourne, and all the other bee-loving cities, let’s make space in every nook and cranny for the world’s most vital pollinators.

Tune in to hear Vanessa and I chat about the inspiring Rooftop Honey and the wonderful local businesses in support of this excellent venture  https://www.rooftophoney.com.au