Help us to legalize urban beekeeping in Los Angeles!! ♥

PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION:
http://www.change.org/petitions/legalize-urban-beekeeping-in-los-angeles-2

[photo via ecovisionslc]

No Zoning Laws, No Problem? Think Again. Faced with no legal right to keep their bees, beekeepers in Cumming, Ga. are working to get a new law on the books.

“Nicholas Weaver, a resident of Cumming, Ga., did everything right before becoming a backyard beekeeper. The then-13-year-old spoke with his neighbors to make sure they wouldn’t mind some new, buzzing tenants on his family’s property. He went to town meetings and asked if the city had rules about beekeeping. Finally, he checked the local zoning laws himself, just to be sure he was in the clear — and when he discovered that his town and its county, Forsyth, had no zoning regulations for non-commercial beekeepers, he figured his bees wouldn’t be a problem.

For 11 years, Weaver was right… But one evening last August, he came home to find a note tacked to his door with a request to call the county government. That’s when he discovered that even if his community had no official city or county guidelines about backyard beekeeping, he could still be forced to give up his hives. Citing an anonymous complaint, the county gave him five days to relocate his bees…”

SIGN THEIR PETITION!!

[click here to read the full article on urbanfarmonline.com]

“HONEY FARM” - by LUSH

If you are not familiar with LUSH yet - check them out - they are awesome!

I first encountered LUSH when I went to a Tails for Whales event they put on with Kristin Bauer from HBO’s True Blood. AND just recently… Kristin Bauer started buzzing for the BEES!!

You can check out the little video I put together for IFAW’s event below:

IFAW event @ LUSH from Chelsea McFarland on Vimeo.

EVERYONE GET EXCITED - SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL HONEYBEE AWARENESS MONTH!!! 

More than 1,000 People Want Urban Beekeeping in Mar Vista
“Organizers have collected more than 500 hand-written signatures and more than 600 online signatures from Change.org members. Let’s keep the momentum going!”

Post by: Sarah Parsons, Change.org Editor 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN OUR PETITION ONLINE @ CHANGE.ORG!!
(you do not need to live in Los Angeles to sign)

Article: Bees Swarm Mar Vista Farmers’ Market to Raise Awareness

Click here to read the full article on Change.org

Will You Help Legalize Urban Beekeeping in Mar Vista?

“As the national interest in urban beekeeping grows, cities like Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and Seattle have joined the movement and legalized the practice. These cities recognize just how important bees are to the future of our way of life.

Yet, as bees are quickly vanishing due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), some cities like Los Angeles have yet to legalize urban beekeeping. In the Mar Vista community of L.A., a group of activists is ready to change that. Chelsea and Rob McFarland recently started a petition on Change.org asking the Mar Vista Community Council to support beekeeping in the region and work to repeal Los Angeles Municipal Code 50.03, which makes beekeeping illegal.

Working in collaboration with the Mar Vista Community Council Green Committee and Backwards Beekeepers, the McFarlands started honeylove.org to raise awareness and gain support for the legalization of urban beekeeping in Mar Vista and Los Angeles as a whole. After speaking in front of the Mar Vista Community Council, Chelsea and Rob gained unanimous approval of a feasibility study on legalizing beekeeping.

Their work is certainly important — bees are responsible for pollinating about one-third of America’s food supply. Without bees, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy staples of our diets like apples, nuts, soybeans, broccoli, and cucumbers, as well as some of the tastiest flowering crops out there, such as peaches, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, citrus fruits, and melons. Even our cattle, which feed primarily on alfalfa, rely on bees to pollinate their food. Even President Obama supports urban beekeeping — he keeps two beehives on the White House lawn.

While the Mar Vista Community Council approved the feasibility study, they’ve yet to fully legalize beekeeping in the community. That’s where the McFarlands’ petition comes in. You can help the couple push for legal beekeeping in Mar Vista. Add your signature to the petition, and enable the citizens of Mar Vista to play their part in saving our food system through urban beekeeping.”

Change.org - by Meredith Slater · June 28, 2011