Hello & Welcome!

My name is Hannah and I am an artist, teacher, and backyard beekeeper! I was born and raised in Lake Tahoe, California and live on the South Island of Aotearoa / New Zealand.

Desiree and I first met in Lake Tahoe and as it turns out, we both have a shared love for bees! As such we want to bring more awareness, love and support to our best flying friends!

How did my interest in bees develop?

Like most people out there, I never imagined becoming a beekeeper. It wasn’t until I went to a screening of Queen of the Sun, that I changed my mind. The documentary depicts the importance of bees and the challenges they face around the world. After watching the film, I was so inspired to help the little bees that I reached out to beekeeper and educator, Sarah Red Laird, for guidance.

She taught me the basics of beekeeping and in turn, I completed my senior thesis on how to integrate beekeeping into Oregon’s state school curriculum.  After graduating with my B.S in Biology in 2013, I moved to New Zealand and have been keeping bees in my backyard ever since! 

I offer beginning beekeeping classes to the local community as well as mentor new beekeepers. In addition, I have been on several podcasts within New Zealand and give yearly talks on the interconnected relationship between bees and humans.

Why should you care about bees?

Bees pollinate flowers and make delicious honey, but did you know they also provide us with every 1/3 bites of the food we eat!? If you enjoy food, you need bees (whether you like them or not). They also make our world a more colorful and beautiful place to live in! Lastly, honey bees work as a superorganism, meaning that everything one bee does, it does for the good of the colony as if it were one being - I think humans can learn a lot from bees about how to care for and look out for one another. 

 

Why do bees need your help?

There are over 20,000 different species of bees worldwide and bees are disappearing. Pests, disease, habitat loss, climate change, and pesticides are all factors which aid in the steady decline of bees. 

Unfortunately, the past three years my bees have been poisoned by pesticides. When this happens, thousands of bees die daily and the colony is less likely to survive. Events like these highlight the responsibility we each have to care for our wee little corner of the world to help make it a better place for us and for nature!

How can you help your local bees?
There are many different ways you can help the bees and not everyone has to be a beekeeper to help them. 

Here are my top tips for how to Bee Kind and help your local bees:

• Plant bee-friendly flowers! (this is THE best way you can help your bees)
• Leave fresh-water out for thirsty bees in a shallow dish filled with rocks- they get thirsty!
• Keep your garden and house pesticide free. If you see someone spraying, stop and ask what they are spraying and if it is friendly to bees.
• Let your local representative know you care about bees and what happens to them!
• Buy pollinator friendly produce and products from your local farmer’s market.
• Purchase from @Hollaglass Bee Friendly line, where a % of the proceeds go to Hannah’s bees or …..
• Follow @whitton.creates to learn more about bees and the different ways you can help them