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At this time of year when coastal tea trees are in bloom, dunes are blanketed, and wildflowers line the roadsides, 27-year-old beekeeper Thomas Earls pauses to ponder how it affects bees and honey. increase.
“Living and working in this area means that you appreciate and enjoy the incredible diversity of the natural environment of this coastline, from golden wattles in winter to flowering eucalyptus in summer. Observing the changing seasons through a variety of native flowers,” said a Jan Juc local.
“This provides native pollinators and bees with an excellent pollen and nectar source year-round, while also providing delicious honey that provides a snapshot of each season blooming in the region.”
In 2020, Earl’s launched Coastal Nectar, a beekeeping business.
His mission is to put a modern twist on a 9,000-year-old beekeeping tradition to create a green local business by providing raw, delicious honey to the Surf Coast community.
Earls has always been a passionate surfer, environmentalist, and self-proclaimed honey addict, but when it came to traveling alone for two years in South America, he didn’t know it would lead to beekeeping. did.
At 27, he embarked on a career as a beekeeper and educator.
“In each country we went, we sampled different honeys from different regions, and I was really fascinated by the different flavors and colors of the plants, from region to region,” he said.
“There are so many types of honey, including dark honey, light floral honey, rich honey, and runny honey, and I fell in love with them during my travels, and after a while, I found a great opportunity.
“We had the option of volunteering with a beekeeper, taking fresh honey from the hive, working with him, and tracking him down.
The count spent time with the beekeeper and within days fell in love with the profession.
“I took a crash course in beekeeping for a week,” says Earls.
“He threw me into the depths. He didn’t want me to wear gloves. He really took me into the depths to see how queens work and build healthy colonies.” I saw the
“He had a very scientific approach to beekeeping. .”
“He instilled in me a passion for how important bees are to the environment and that beekeeping is not just about honey. It is an amazing awareness that comes with beekeeping.
“It knows what native flowers and the bees that work with it visit, and finds out when different types of trees bloom and produce nectar.”
When Earls returned from his trip, he began tending one hive from his backyard in Belbrae.
“Australia is in the golden age of beekeeping, free of most pests and the bees here are doing extremely well with our amazing eucalyptus.
“So in my one little beehive … I realized that I wanted to learn so many things very quickly and expand.”
So Earls enlisted the help of the community and gave them the opportunity to pre-purchase honey and beeswax for more hives and beekeeping equipment.
Earls initially requested $1,000 in hopes of adding one or two hives to his collection, but soon after collecting $7,000 he was able to fund fifteen more hives. It soon became a small-scale honey producer on the Surf Coast.
“Everything happened so quickly, I’m just grateful.”
Coastal Nectar now produces over 400kg of raw honey in small batches for the Surf Coast community.
Beyond beekeeping, Earls continues his environmental passion and has expanded his work with Coastal Nectar to include an elementary school education program about native bees and the important world of bees.
Earls travels each winter to introduce and educate children in schools in Melbourne, Geelong and Sydney, as well as helping National Disability Insurance Scheme clients create bee-friendly gardens.
“I went to all these schools, put on a suit, and was called upon to teach kids that bees aren’t scary and they don’t want to sting you.”
“It’s probably the main part of coastal nectar today.”
“In the last 12 months, we have introduced over 50 schools around Victoria to the World of Bees school break-in, including the nearest Bellbrae Primary School for a second semester topic on Mini Beasts. It also includes visiting
“Many of these schools are located locally or in rural Victoria and I had a great time looking at their vegetable gardens and helped provide advice and bee friendly seeds for planting around the schools. rice field.”
“I don’t want to be a big beekeeper just making money from my bees. In my eyes, education is more sustainable.”
“Soon we will also start making beeswax candle kits for schools.”
In July 2022, Coastal Nectar placed 2nd at the Australian Rural Business Awards for Education Program and Invasion.
However, the importance of education is not limited to schools. Earl’s is also passionate about sharing with the community the importance of creating bee-friendly gardens.
Earls’ recommendations for planting a flower garden for this year’s bee-friendly spring include sweet Alice and flowering thyme, as well as native everlasting paper daisies, billy buttons, and nasturtiums.
“Avoid pesticides and keep your garden wild as much as possible.
“Currently, the ongoing climate emergency, pesticides, varroa mites and deforestation are putting a lot of pressure on native bees and bees. The best way to start is with a bee-friendly garden. ”
He said planting these flowers and attracting bees to your garden are mutually beneficial.
“It helps diversify pollen and nectar, food sources for local native pollinators, while providing extra pollination for backyard vegetables and fruit trees.”
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