To say I’ve had an awesome few weeks with Burt’s Bees would be an understatement. They are so aligned with everything I’ve been working on with my @insteadofmovement, and encouraging brands to be more sustainable and they share my love and appreciation of bees. We did some fun activations in Palm Springs during Coachella and recently in New York with my water bottle chain promoting hydration from the inside and out (their new Hydrating Stick is amazing on planes or when you need a hit of moisture and is so cooling!). Earlier this month I got to visit their headquarters in Durham, North Carolina and see where all the magic happens.
Today, the UN celebrates the first ever World Bee Day (May 20th) to raise awareness of these tiny helpers and the role they play in ending hunger and achieving sustainable development. And in honor of this day I wanted to give you a tour of the office, Burt’s original cabin in Maine (which they moved onto the property), interior and all, and for you to meet their bees!
Burt understood the importance of bees and their contribution to human beings. The company has lived out his legacy in educating people on them and has an observation hive (as seen in the above video tour) which houses approximately 15,000 honeybees. They also loads of education on campus and facts including that honey bees are responsible for pollinating 80% of all fruit, vegetable and seed crops in the US. And that in the US nearly 40% of all honeybee colonies have vanished in recent years and encourage everyone to support bees by:
- plant bee-friendly gardens
- buy local honey
- buy local and organic
- spread the word
“Bees are crucial to our food system, from almonds all the way to zucchini if we don’t have good, healthy honeybees, we won’t have good, healthy crops – Andrew Cote, President and Founder of the NYC Beekeepers Association
One third of the food we eat depends on bees. When bees are at risk, the entire ecosystems are at risk. Bees play a crucial role in increasing crop yields and promoting nutrition. The United Nations now has a hive for bees on the United Nations North Lawn, My alma mater Fashion Institute of Technology currently has 40,000 bees residing on campus with a hive run by the students. Even the Westin Hotel outside of Palm Springs where we rescued our dog Charlie from has an apiary on the property. When I hear about other companies, colleges and individuals considering beekeeping and hosting hives it brings me so much joy!
When bees are added to gardens and urban farms, food quality improves and harvest increases by up to 71%.
For anyone looking to get more involved check out thehoneybeeconservancy.org, they have a Sponsor-a-Hive program that places free bees in community gardens and urban farms to provide healthy produce to local residence and are also a wealth of knowledge.