Bees Swarm Mar Vista Farmers' Market to Raise Awareness

by Jessica Belsky · 2011-07-07 10:18:00 UTC
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Hundreds of shoppers at the Los Angeles-area Mar Vista Farmers' Market were met with an unlikely scene this past Sunday. In addition to fruit and veggie vendors, bakers, complimentary dog-sitters, and a woman singing Bob Marley cover songs, locals encountered a swarm of bees. Well, a swarm of activists dressed as bees, that is.

This impromptu gathering of bees, beekeepers, and flower-wearing volunteers was an idea from Chelsea and Rob McFarland, founders of the non-profit, Honeylove. The couple created the non-profit to raise awareness about the current plight of the honeybee and to offer a solution: Legalize urban beekeeping in Los Angeles. Beekeeping in the city is currently illegal, and the McFarlands started a petition on Change.org asking the Mar Vista Community Council to allow urban beekeeping in the Mar Vista region of Los Angeles.

Honeybees have it rough these days, so the pollinators certainly need all the help that they can get. A phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder is causing bees to leave the hive, never to return. No one knows for sure what is causing Colony Collapse Disorder, but bees are up againt a host of threats: pesticides, fungal pathogens, loss of habitat, pollution, and climate change, just to name a few. Local urban hives could help the ailing species that's responsible for producing a full one-third of America's food supply.

Enter Honeylove, Backwards Beekeepers, and the Mar Vista Community Council Green Committee. The all-ages crew pulled out their best blacks and yellows this past weekend and headed to the market with clipboards and information. They brought coloring projects for kids, gave out packets of California orange poppy seeds, and explained to residents why there's a need for urban beekeeping. It was a receptive crowd — organizers collected more than 500 signatures in support of urban beekeeping in Mar Vista.

The Mar Vista Community Council is currently conducting a feasibility study for a pilot beekeeping project. You can help the cause by adding your signature to this petition urging the council to legalize beekeeping in the community. Your signature will help Mar Vista residents — both people and bees — get local hives going.

Photo credit: Jessica Belsky

Jessica Belsky is a freelance writer and communications manager at an environmental non-profit.

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