Over this past weekend, vandals destroyed a community garden and beehives – killing tens of thousands of bees with sticks and basketballs. The beehives and gardens belong to BEEA Honey with Heart, a project led by youth in Spryfield. BEEA Honey with Heart is an initiative that engages youth in caring for bee hives, maintaining a community garden, and producing and marketing honey for fundraising and community development.
We spoke with Donna Morrison of Family SOS, who oversee the youth social enterprise BEEA Honey with Heart. She told us that the youth tending to the hives volunteer their free-time and weekends to caring for the bees, the hives and the gardens. The kids learn valuable life skills, can use this experience to get college/university scholarships, learn about running/operating a business and the importance of giving back to their community. The kids are feeling the loss of their hard-work and are very dissapointed. Donna says that while Halifax Regional Police are investigating and looking for the vandals, the kids at Honey with Heart want the vandals caught and made to help rebuild the garden and learn how valuable the bees are to our environment. Morrison said their next step is to raise funds for a security camera onsite to deter future vandalism.
Now we understand not everyone loves bees but they are not out to sting you – they’re just trying to do their job to provide us with fruits, veggies and flowers! “Unless you are near the hives provoking them bees don’t sting. They don’t sting out of boredom, they sting because they’re being provoked,” Morrison told us. “So whoever vandalized our hives? I’m sure they did get stung. That’s a natural consequence.”
A GoFundMe page is now set up; you can also call Family SOS to make a donation or to volunteer: 902-455-5515 or email Donna: donna@familysos.ca