TEDx Talk on saving the bees

I am a huge fan of TEDx Talks. If you haven’t watched any, you really should. They cover every subject under the sun and speakers talk for about 15 mins. So, a perfect amount of time for an elevenses tea break or with a sandwich at lunchtime.

I subscribe to their youtube channel and a new video about bees popped up recently. I remembered it today and went back to watch. 

The talk We can Save the Bees Together was given by Sarah Red-Laird. Yes, that’s her in the photo above and yes she is kissing a bee. I haven’t quite reached that stage in my beekeeping yet. Possibly, this image of myself is still too vivid in my memory.

Anyway, it is an interesting talk (I’ve posted the video for it at the end of this post). I was hooked from the the outset when she started with “How long have you been a beekeeper? That is a question that I’m asked almost on a daily basis.” That feels like my life too. In a good way of course because, like her, I do feel as though I was born to be a beekeeper.

However, Red-Laird isn’t just a beekeeper she is a research scientist that has specialised in honey bees at the University of Montana. So, she knows a thing or two. She currently works with farmers and other land managers in the US to conserve bee habitat. She also provides outreach, education and mentoring in her hometown of Ashland, Oregon.  

She had an interesting few slides (pasted below) as to how we can save the bees. All of them are pretty achievable even if you aren’t a ‘crazy bee lady’ like myself. 

Then this slide below is possibly the saddest photo I’ve seen for a long time. It honestly makes my heart ache.

We need to do all we can to save our bees. So, write to your politicians about bee policy, stop eating crops that you know are sprayed with pesticides (for instance, I love getting my organically grown fruit and veg box from Riverford every week) and plant more flowers. 

You can watch Sarah’s talk in full below.