Maintaining natural wildlife is one of the pillars of saving our planet. Many insects, such as bees, are overlooked for their contribution to the natural landscape of the world.
Cross-pollination is when the pollen from one plant get transferred over to the pistils of another. This action allows flowers to mix their genetic information, evolve, and survive in the wild. Without cross-pollination, new plants can’t grow and feed the wildlife surrounding them.
When bees land on a flower, they pick up some of its pollen and then fly to another. Cross-pollination occurs naturally from the bees transferring particles from one plant to another.
With an increase in pesticides used by farmers to ‘preserve’ their crops, every year there is a 40% decrease in surrounding bee populations. Without the insects, humans have to manually cross-pollinate, which is less efficient.
A Hollywood Legend Steps In
One household name, Morgan Freeman, heard about this wildlife crisis and wanted to help. When he’s not in front of the camera, Morgan spends a lot of time on his ranch in Mississippi. He owns a sizeable piece of land, roughly 124-acres large and wanted to dedicate some of it to saving the bees.
Morgan imported 26 bee hives from Arkansas to his ranch. He works daily to feed the bees a mixture of sugar and water. This is necessary because when the hive moves, the bees lose track of where their food source is. He and his team have even planted bee-friendly plants such as magnolia trees, lavender and clover.
When speaking to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, Morgan said he has a special relationship with the bees. “What I’ve discovered is that I don’t have to put on a bee suit or anything to feed them.” He said, “They have the outfits for people who can’t resonate.”
At the core of Morgan’s new hobby is a mutual respect between himself and the insects he cares for. The bees are socially aware enough to understand that he brings the food source and poses no threat. “I’m never gonna get stung,” he said.
Bees Are the Foundation of Our World
Morgan is giving the bees a place to live and work without the threat of pesticides. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has highlighted Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) as the leading cause for the decline in bee populations. CCD is when the worker bees don’t return to the hive and abandon the queen bee. Without worker bees the hive cannot survive.
If worker bees are out search for pollen and suddenly die from harmful pesticides, plants are unable to cross-pollinate and wither as well.
Morgan Freeman is very in-tune with the world around him. He is on the short list of A-list celebrities that take part in wildlife recovery. When asked why he took up beekeeping, Morgan gave the perfect response, “"There is a concerted effort for bringing bees back onto the planet. We do not realize that they are the foundation, I think, of the growth of the planet”
With the space and safety Morgan has given the bees, he is single-handedly helping us maintain wildlife and save our planet.
