Help Beekeepers affected by fire

We have extended this crowdfunding to include beekeepers all around Australia who have been effected by these devastating fires.

We started this campaign initially in NSW because beekeepers in our area had lost their apiaries .

As the weeks have gone by and more and more beekeepers all over the country have been affected by the fires, we are finding hard to wrap our heads around the magnitud of the situation.

There are now beekeepers in three states that have requested assistance and their will be a lot more.

It breaks our heart to see hectares upon hectares burning, the loss of lives and property and our beautiful bush. And we are in awe of the efforts of the firefighters. 

There are many ways to help in this enormous disaster, ours is to try to get those beekeepers affected back on their feet. Eventually beekeepers will be crucial to regenerate what has been lost through pollination.

This week we will begin be transparent in how we will be dispersing funds. Please follow the journey and you will be able to see how effective your generosity has been.

Thank you for your support.

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Original post:

Beekeeping victims of the fires are raising funds for all beekeepers on the east coast of Australia who are suffering as a result of the fires.

So many beekeepers are affected it is hard to know where to begin but a start would be assisting those who have lost hives and apiary sites.

Many of the beekeepers are without phone reception or internet and some at the moment are trying to protect their homes and apiary’s.

It is chaotic for them at the moment and many are the type of Australians that are to humble to ask for help.

Some were already suffering from the drought and low honey price due to imports.


The scale of the fires is overwhelming:
https://www.facebook.com/nswrfs/videos/vb.213250965551/667473703780929/?type=2&theater 


Finding your hives burnt is devastating:
https://www.facebook.com/amberdropaustralia/videos/719918195179726/ 


This initiative is lead by three beekeeping operations that have also suffered loses in the fires.


Ana and Sven @amberdrophoney Johns River
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4vkEybAY31/?igshid=musqyqgoiyzp 


Peter and Aspen @midcoasthoney Elands NSW
https://www.instagram.com/midcoasthoney/?hl=en


Michael from @australiasmanuka ByronBay
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4vkEybAY31/?igshid=musqyqgoiyzp 


Nigel and Chelsea and Sticky Tip Bees
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4uLarHFOBx/?igshid=9ns8lyw959yf 



Some of the areas that have been burnt such as Elands NSW are in rainforest areas that have never burnt before.


So much foraging area has been lost and may not produce nectar for three to five years .

As we know we need bees to pollinate the food we eat.

For this area to recover we need a bee population.

Local Beekeepers Ana and Chelsea Hands will form a committee with beekeeping victims to manage the funds.

If you are a beekeeper (small or large) that has been affected by the recent fires and needs assistance please email [email redacted].au for us to be able to include you on our list. 


We will be collecting details and number of hives lost from the affected beekeepers (there must be proof of the loss). We will keep a running sheet of donations as well as beekeepers and their loses and we will allocate funds proportionately to the number of hives lost. We are happy to post receipts for payments made. Updates will be emailed to all contributors for transparency.
We welcome feedback and constructive suggestions.

PLEASE NOTE,  Ana & Sven (Amber Drop Honey) and Chelsea (Sticky Tip Bees) are the main administrators for this campaign, but we do not seek money for ourselves. We are just trying to help.


Other ways to help:

Support your local beekeeper and purchase directly from them whenever possible.

https://www.beethecure.com.au/honey-map/ 



Plant native species to support bees and other species.

https://www.beethecure.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/STBA_Infosheet_SaveBees-VR2_12-5-19.pdf

or

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.midcoast.nsw.gov.au%2Ffiles%2Fassets%2Fpublic%2Fdocument-resources%2Fenvironment-docs%2Ftrees-amp-plants%2Findigenous-plants-of-greater-taree-version-3.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiX7OPJ9O_lAhU_ILcAHbXEDJkQFjAAegQIBhAC&usg=AOvVaw0jb0WyebT1nuHG7gEnptc6&cshid=1573948191812&fbclid=IwAR1p1uWYdJA-HT4lVqndpOr5p03IcvGk7bkUgXO8EocqE-QhrzFrj6mCNOQ