The Key? The Bee!

For Earth Day 2022, we’re celebrating the bees!

Bees, and other pollinators, are so important to the work we do in the vineyard. Every year, honeybee hives are delivered to the lower field at Tukwilla Vineyard to pollinate the cherry trees next door. It’s amazing to watch the hives warm up as the sun rises and hum with busyness all day. They work hard!

Even when we aren’t hosting hives, Tukwilla Vineyard is farmed according to the LIVE sustainable standards that include creating ecological compensation areas (ECAs) to support local wildlife, including our native bees and pollinators.

But…why do we care? Because bees pollinate 1 out of every 3 bites of food you eat or drink. According to Save the Bee, an Oregon non-profit led by B Corp-Certified Glorybee, in the US, honey bees are responsible for 80% of agricultural pollination!

So, let’s give these hardworking bees a hand! Here’s how to help:

• Learn & Share: Here’s an article about how beekeeping in the west is critical to producing our favorite foods, including almonds. Learn more about the bee crisis in the New York Times.

• Get Gardening!: Find your regional “garden recipe card” and add some plants that pollinators love to your garden this Spring.

• Contribute: Don’t have a garden but want to support the research and citizen scientists working hard to save the bees? Donate to the Oregon Bee Project.