Honey bee on milkweed. Photo by Sarah Scott
Giving Back
The only way I make honey and have healthy bees is if there are flowers on the landscape. If I care about bees (and I do), then I have to make sure that the land will support them. I have done this through two ways. First, I donate 5% of my profits of my honey sales every year to organizations that put pollinator habitat on the ground in Michigan. The second thing that I do is work to perform restoration on the property where I live. Check out our own habitat restoration project on our blog - thanks to funding from the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
Below are some of the orgazations that we have supported over the years.
Haehnle Memorial Sanctuary - Photo by Steve Jerant
Our bees are working to protect the birds and the bees at the Phyllis Haehnle Audubon Sanctuary near Jackson, MI. Having our bees on site makes the sanctuary eligible for pollinator specific funding - providing resources to help our bees, and the thousands of native pollinators that make their home there. Audubon members and countless volunteers are working to turn the over 1000 acres of this sanctuary into restored marsh land, fen, grassland, and woodlands. This sanctuary is known for the many bird species that can be spotted there, and for being an important stop on the sandhill crane migration, with up to 8000 cranes visiting in a day! Our bees are there as part of a project through the Natural Resource Conservation Service as a way to restore pollinator habitat. While they are there, they are collecting nectar from the flood plain trees, like tulip trees, and from the flowers in the two large restored grasslands.
Learn more about this jewel in Jackson county by visiting their webpage - www.haehnlesanctuary.org
Detroit Hives - Perennial Propagator Program
Detroit Hives is a Michigan Based non-profit whose mission is to transform vacant Detroit lots into pollinator habitats and sites for bee education. Their perennial propagator program is focused on creating a source for more plants in the area. This organization is involved in multiple conservation, restoration, and education programs in south east Michigan. Find our more here: https://detroithives.org/about-us/
Here are some of the organizations that we support. Have a group, project, or organization that you love that isn't listed? Let us know! And please, plant flowers and flowering trees!
