KYM ELLERY; COURTESY OF HONEY FINGERS
youngpeopleenterit as somethingearnestto
do,a littlemorefortheopticsofa ‘lifestyle’
than a necessarily genuine and long-term
commitmenttotheneedsofa verycomplex
animalina globallyprecarioustime.Also,a
hugeamountof honeystayswiththehive—
thatis veryimportant.Beekeepingis simplyworkingtogetherwith
beestomakea surplusof honey,leavingthemwithwhattheyneed.I LOVETHESYMBIOTICRELATIONSHIPof beesand
humans:theyhavebecomethebasicfoundationofoursedentary
agriculture.Wehavealmostthesamebodytemperature.Weare
someoftheonlyanimalswhofermentourfoodfornutritionand
preservation.Andsimply,I amcompletelyobsessedwithwatching,
upclose,thefunctionofa superorganism.Beespassa tremendous
amount of informationbetween one another in a lifetime and
someofhowthathappensis stilla mysterytous.Theyarea matri-
archyofarchitects—it’sanincrediblethingtowatchunfold.I GET A BEAUTIFUL SENSE ofpatienceandcommit-
mentfromthepractice.Verysimply,it makesmedeeplyhappy
everytimeI finish.Youcannotthinkaboutanything elsewhile
you’reengagedinit.Theritualsofthework,thecommunityand
thedaysoutdoorsarequitemagic.Insummer,it’ssobeautifulto sit
at sunsetwitha drinkinmyhandandwatchthemallcomehome.
Without bees [it’sestimated]humanswould havefour years of
survival.‘Valuable’doesn’tevencoverit;‘vital’, perhaps.- Compiled by Elle McClure; m-i-s-o.com
LIKE MANY UKRAINIANS,I am
frombeekeepersonbothsidesofmyfamily.
I think it’sstronglyinmyblood, andit’s veryimportantin our
culture,sobeekeepingis somethingthathasalwaysbeenaround
me.Fora longtimeit didn’tfeellikesomethingI couldtakeon—
it’sa littledifficultwhenyou’repermanentlyontheroad,asI am
—soI wasquitecontentjusthelpingothers.Myfirstpersonalhives
wereactuallyanemergencyrescue,soit fellintomylap.I’mnow
partof[Melbourne-basedbeekeepingcollective]HoneyFingers.KEEPING BEES INVOLVES a lot of talking,a lot of
helping,a lotof learning.I’drecommendanyoneinterestedin bees
findan[existing]communityofkeeperswhomyoucanchatto
andcomparenoteswiththroughouteachseason.Thereis somuch
to knowandsomuchthatis circumstantialto localgeography,
weather, neighbourhood pesticides, diseaseand climate change
that goes much further than an introductory course or book.
Thesevariableschangeconstantlyanddrastically,sodialogueand
communityis veryimportant,especiallyfornewerbeekeepers.THERE’S A GREATMISCONCEPTIONthatbeesare
easyto keep—thattheyaresomethingthatcanbeleftin a boxand
checkedonperiodically.Manypeopleunderestimatetheworkand
knowledge that goes into beekeeping. I think,particularly, manyStanislava
Pinchuk.Right:
withherfriend
PaulfromHoney
Fingers.ZEITGEIST... Gain an
appreciation
for an ancient
lifeform?
Multidisciplinaryartist
StanislavaPinchukonthe
delightsanddemands of
keeping bees171 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU December 2019