Reamronaldreagan [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Scientists have recently been pointing to the decline of bee populations around the world and warning of a potential collapse of bee colonies, that could've been a disastrous impact on the ecosystem. When actor Morgan Freeman started to hear about those reports, he decided to transform his 124-acre ranch in Mississippi into a bee sanctuary.
The world learned about Freeman’s beekeeping hobby in a 2014 appearance on “The Tonight Show,” with Jimmy Fallon. In that interview, Freeman revealed that when he learned that bee colonies around the planet were in danger of collapse, he bought 26 full beehives and began building his bee sanctuary.
Freeman said the bees seem to appreciate his help. He's never been stung while working with the bees, and he does not even wear any protective gear.
“I have not ever used the beekeeping hat with my bees. They haven’t stung me yet, as right now I am not trying to harvest honey or anything, but I just feed them … I also think that they understand, ‘Hey, don’t bother this guy, he’s got sugar water here,’” said Freeman.
He explained that he's just one of many people across the world who is working to save the bee population.
“There is a concerted effort for bringing bees back onto the planet … We do not realize that they are the foundation, I think, of the growth of the planet, the vegetation … I have a lot of flowering things, and I have a gardener too. As she takes care of the bees too, all she does is figure out, ‘OK, what would they like to have?’ so we have got acres and acres of clover, and we have some planting stuff like lavender, I have got like, maybe 140 magnolia trees, big blossoms,” he added.
A video shared by The Mauldin Brothers depicts some of Freeman’s beehives in action.
Flea, The Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, has established an apiary, that holds three hives, totaling more than 60,000 bees. Famous Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson started beekeeping after Samuel L. Jackson offered her a hive of bees as a wedding present. There were even several celebrity beekeepers in the past, before the concerns of bee colony collapse.
Leo Tolstoy and Sylvia Plath also owned beehives. As Tolstoy’s wife wrote in her diary:
“He is crouching in front of his hives, net over his head. The apiary has become the center of the world for him now, and everybody has to be interested exclusively in Bees!”
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