National Honey Bee Day Reminds Us How Important Bees are for Ecosystems

National Honey Bee Day was August 16^th and is a day set aside each year to honor the important honey bee population. This day is an educational opportunity for everyone to learn more about how bees keep our ecosystem thriving.  Each year, the special day has a theme and this year the theme focused on “sustainable gardening begins with honey bees.” This is the first year where the focus was not on farmers but on the average person and the ability of one individual to create a bee-welcoming habitat in their own garden.

You do not need to be a farmer or beekeeper to encourage growth of the honey bee population. While it is always recommended that you purchase locally-produced honey, an individual can support honey bees year-round by:

• Educating yourself on the dangers and risks of pesticides in your garden. Sometimes a chemical treatment you think is safe will actually harm the environment.
• Never judging a book by its cover. Many people misjudge honey bees as aggressive insects that want to go out of their way to sting you. Honey bees are typically non-aggressive and are fairly easy to manage.
• Creating a friendly habitat in your garden. Only certain flowers that have nectar which attract bees. Your bees will encourage plant growth and your plant growth will encourage more bees.
• Welcoming beekeepers in your community because if you personally have an area of concern, you can contact them for help with honey bees. Just like nectar and honey bees, community members benefit from a symbiotic relationship with bee keepers.
• If you have garden, selecting flowers that bloom in different seasons so your yard has blooms in the spring, summer, and the fall. Also, bees enjoy naturally occurring plants like clovers and dandelions so it is important to allow these natural growers to thrive in your yard.
• If you feel like you need to be vocal about your concerns, consider writing to your state senators, representative, or even federal government representatives about supporting more funding for the bee industry, including honey bee research.

At Georgia Honey Farm, we stay dedicated to a self-imposed code of ethics to make sure our bees are happy and produce a high-quality of honey. We never pasteurize or micro-filter the honey. Your honey will still have its natural health benefits instead of losing them through filtration. Take a minute to educate yourself concerning the honey bee. Last year, people in the United States consumed more than 450 million pounds of honey.

To learn more about honey bees and the types of honey we sell, contact us or call 470-268-7941 or browse our online store. We are pleased to offer a range of raw, local honey that is straight from our honey farm.