Honey Map

Save the Bees Honey Map: Helping Honey Lovers Buy Local and Ethical Honey

My recent chat with friend and bee activist extraordinaire Simon Mulvany for the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast had me thinking about the most inspiring projects beekeepers have undertaken in Australia. Without a doubt, one of my all-time favourite ideas to hit the worlds of apiary, environmentalism and ethical consumerism is the Save the Bees Honey Map. Established by Simon on the Save the Bees website, this extraordinary interactive online tool allows consumers to find local honey producers and stockists so they can bypass mainstream, unethical companies and their bee-related products. By simply clicking on a location on the map, you can easily find a local beekeeper who you can buy your honey and wax from directly. Buying straight for local beekeepers supports local business and keeps honey production ethical and transparent. Also, the products you can source from smaller scale local producers are, in my opinion, tastier, more unique, and better quality, and they don’t contain filler additives, sugar and other nasties — in fact, most usually the honey you buy locally is raw and is therefore higher in nutritional value. You can also rest easy at night knowing that the honey you mixed into your tea and slathered on your toast came from a happy colony of bees, cared for by a local bee lover.

The Save the Bees Honey Map is run by Simon, but not without the help of his employees, other professionals and many active and ethical volunteers. More sources of honey are added to the map all the time, making it an incredible tool to seek out honey in your local area. I also love to use the honey map when I am on the road or travelling — I simply jump online and see where I can get my hands on some local honey for my HUGE honey collection. But one can never have enough honey, am I right?

Mulvany’s approach to Save the Bees, and tools such as the Honey Map, is inspiring to say the least. A social enterprise forms when entrepreneurs focus on solving social problems in addition to customer problems; in this instance, Save the Bees fights bee losses and unethical environmental, economic and social problems head on by engaging many voices, and even more hands, to call out, expose and shame the products, chemicals, businesses and activities that harm the world’s most vital pollinators. There are a group of professionals, including myself, that contribute to the organisation’s social media, broadening the scope of information and helping to spread the word. There is an even larger group of volunteers that help build the honey map and engage in activism. And, even better, there are THOUSANDS of people that view that information and use the resources provided, changing consumer habits and increasing awareness.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe60CXYUrfAniDiaFl55B8QSQDv6DqR5tpGN7O5jr_NoDa39Q/viewform

So, what are you waiting for? Check out the Save the Bees Honey Map here https://www.beethecure.com.au/honey-map-2/