September 18, 2010
Film - Vanishing of the Bees (see above trailer)
Meet a Beekeeper! Prior to the screening, Chris and Grai -long time beekeepers of HoneybeeLives.org, will be sharing their valuable insight on organic, biodynamic beekeeping and offering a glimpse of the actual materials used in urban beekeeping. If you are interested in learning how to begin beekeeping or just dying to ask any question about honeybees - this is your chance!
HoneybeeLives teaches organic beekeeping classes throughout the year, with the main classes taking place in the winter months. This year classes will take place in the Hudson Valley and NYC.
About Vanishing of the Bees…
Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives.
Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon has brought beekeepers to crisis in an industry responsible for producing apples, broccoli, watermelon, onions, cherries and a hundred other fruits and vegetables. Commercial honeybee operations pollinate crops that make up one out of every three bites of food on our tables.
Vanishing of the Bees follows commercial beekeepers David Hackenberg and Dave Mendes as they strive to keep their bees healthy and fulfill pollination contracts across the U.S. The film explores the struggles they face as the two friends plead their case on Capital Hill and travel across the Pacific Ocean in the quest to protect their honeybees.
Filming across the US, in Europe, Australia and Asia, this documentary examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between mankind and mother earth. As scientists puzzle over the cause, organic beekeepers indicate alternative reasons for this tragic loss. Conflicting options abound and after years of research, a definitive answer has not been found to this harrowing mystery.
Discussion
— Jim Fischer, of Gotham City Honey Co-op began beekeeping over 20 years ago after a career at AT &T Bell Labs and a youthful stint at the New Alchemy Institute where he worked on hydroponics, aquaculture, and wind power. Fischer kept 600 biodynamically- managed hives in the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia for honey and pollination. He moved to Manhattan to keep bees on rooftops and has taught free 12- week beekeeping classes at the Central Park Arsenal. Fischer created the Gotham City Honey Co-op and also volunteers a great deal of time with NYC Beekeeping. He’s known for his acerbic wit, a popular series of articles about beekeeping, and his scientific knowledge of bees.
— Liane Newton serves as “Organizer” of NYC Beekeeping. She took up beekeeping in her sabbatical year and got hooked. A native New Yorker, and long a supporter of sustainable agriculture and development, she ran a food coop in the 70s, went on to study law, worked in China in the 80s, and with entrepreneurs around MIT in the 90s. As a community gardener, she served on the Board of the 500-plot Fenway Victory Gardens and was a key strategist in the fight to save Fenway Park.
Both Liane and Jim have been involved in sustainable systems since the 1970’s.
— Chris Harp - organic beekeeper, “Bee Doctor”, beekeeping teacher, and co-founder of HoneybeeLives. He utilizes a biodynamic approach to tend to approximately 200 colonies located throughout the Northeast.
— Grai St. Clair Rice- is an organic beekeeper, journalist and co-founder of HoneybeesLives. Her focus is to increase public awareness of honeybees through her lectures and writing, and she co-teaches the HoneybeeLives’ beekeeping classes.
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