What is National Honey Bee Day?
National Honey Bee Day will be celebrated on August 17, 2024. This annual awareness day is recognized on the third Saturday of August and is meant to recognize the importance of honey bees, the need to protect them, and the beekeepers and other individuals and organizations that work with them regularly. National Honey Bee Day was first celebrated in 2009 by a group of beekeepers who petitioned the United States Department of Agriculture, asking that this special day be recognized annually. Since its creation, it has greatly expanded and is widely recognized through events and initiatives across the country.
The Vital Role Honey Bees Play in Our Society
Honey bees are amazing creatures. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that over 100 U.S. grown crops are dependent on pollinators - including honey bees - which have formed a whopping 2.8 million hives throughout the country. Honey bees are actually the country’s main commercial pollinator and we rely on them for many of the crops we consume regularly. We rely on honey bees to pollinate our fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs, and without the bees, we would really be lacking.
Unfortunately, the honey bee population (and other pollinator populations) has been drastically declining worldwide because of increased use of pesticides, parasites and the loss of their natural habitats due to land development. Honey bees are such an important part of our society and we need to treat them as such by protecting and supporting them.
Wedderspoon’s Commitment to Gentle Manuka Honey Harvesting
We at Wedderspoon know first-hand how truly special honey bees are. Our honey bees produce liquid gold - the Manuka Honey we consider a superfood! Our honey bee colonies in New Zealand live in colorful hives and forage freely on Manuka blossoms throughout the New Zealand valley. Our expert beekeepers take the utmost care when harvesting the Manuka Honey they produce, disturbing the bees as little as possible and always leaving some Manuka honey behind for them. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Wedderspoon is a proud partner of the Rodale Institute, which is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization located in Kutztown, PA, dedicated to pioneering organic farming through research and outreach. We have been longtime supporters of the “Your 2 Cents Program” at the Rodale Institute. This program unites producers, consumers, researchers and educators to launch the next generation of organic farming, which is important when it comes to the protection of pollinators, including honey bees. Organic farming is encouraged because farming with pesticides is not only harmful to our pollinators, but to us as humans too. We also proudly support the Healthy Soil Supporter Program at the Rodale Institute. Scientists at the Rodale Institute collect and sample soil from their fields to study what makes soil healthier and what types of soil provide the best nutrients to plants. We are proud to be involved in initiatives that help support pollinators.
Celebrate National Honey Bee Day
We invite you to celebrate National Honey Bee Day with us! There are many ways to celebrate, including by supporting bees and appreciating what they contribute to our world. Take a pledge to support our bees by planting pollinator friendly plants in your garden - specifically plants native to your environment and region. If you want to get your community involved, you could host a National Honey Bee Day Community Gardening initiative and have your neighbors join you in planting pollinator friendly plants on their properties and at local parks. Want to learn more about pollinator-friendly gardens? We share some insight on creating a pollinator-friendly garden.
We also encourage you to read up on bees - trust us, you will be impressed with what you learn! Bees are intelligent, amazing beings that impact our daily lives in more ways than we realize. Watching a bee-related movie or documentary is also another fun way to celebrate this day.
And, of course, you should celebrate National Honey Bee Day with sweetest gift honey bees offer us - honey! Make the switch from sugar to honey when you bake and cook. Honey is a great alternative sweetener in everything from desserts to dressings, marinades and drinks.
From all of us at Wedderspoon….Happy National Honey Bee Day!
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