Busy bees, working hard, are largely responsible for regulating our food supply through the pollination of our crops. To put it into perspective just how important these little creatures are: globally, 80% of our food from crop cultivation is pollinated by just 2% of the bee population – the working bees. That means that if we lose that very important 2%, then we also lose 80% of our plant-based food supply. Meaning no more apples, oranges, avocados, blueberries, broccoli, onions, almonds and so much more.
Bees play an essential role in the health of our environment and its ecosystems. Not only would we lose a massive food source, but also many animals. They would no longer have food to eat and would therefore die. Losing bees means losing birds, mice, squirrels, flowers, weeds, etc., all at the same time. In other words, it would be a total catastrophe.
Many people are jumping into action because they do not want this to be the future we are heading towards. Morgan Freeman is one of these activists. That is why he decided to turn his 124-acre ranch in Mississippi into a sanctuary for wild bees with bee-friendly plants like fruit trees and clover, magnolia trees, and lavender.
In an interview a few years ago (when he first became a beekeeper), Freeman explained the reasons behind his decision to build his own apiary. He said:
“I just received, two weeks ago, 26 hives of bees, so I’m very busy… I’m beekeeping… There’s a concerted effort to bring bees back onto the planet… We do not realize that they are the foundation, I think, of the growth of the planet, the vegetation… I have so many flowering things and I have a gardener too. Because she takes care of the bees too, all she does is figure out, ‘OK, what would they like to have?’, so we’ve got acres and acres of clover, we’re planting stuff like lavender, I’ve got like, maybe 140 magnolia trees, big blossoms.”
With bee populations decreasing steadily across the globe in recent years, we need more people to care as Freeman does. In just one year, between 2015 and 2016 in the U.S. alone, the bee population suffered a ridiculous 44% loss. It is widely recognized that environmental damage is having a hugely negative impact on their delicate ecosystem. It is also critical, now more than ever before, that we do whatever we can, if we can, to find effective methods to protect the bees… and do it.
There are people all around the world that have been doing this – trying their best to help in whatever way they can. Many people plant flowers for bees to visit, petition to stop the use of pesticides that destroy bees, and are even starting beekeeping.
And although it is not easy to measure the effects of each individual persons efforts (like those of Morgan Freeman or anyone else), each person’s contribution will make a measurable impact overall. It’s stories like Freeman’s that serve as an example to remind us that we can all do something to save the bees and, by doing so, save ourselves from food shortage… and ultimately starvation.
Watch Freeman explaining to Jimmy Fallon why he’s “at one with the bees” in the hilarious video below: