Caring for Honeybees Is Caring for Earth
October 27, 2025
Kari Jones, the Memory Care Specialist for Sisters at St. Francis Home and Nazareth Court and Center, and her husband, Michael, practice care of Earth by caring for honeybees. Michael is an apiarist, a beekeeper, who manages honeybee colonies and maintains the beehives on their property. Kari collects and processes the natural honey.
Their yard is a garden of flowers attracting pollinators: honeybees, other flying insects, and hummingbirds. Together Kari and Michael practice eco-spirituality, which connects the natural world to the sacredness of Earth.
There are four processes for pollinator-bee conservation: growing pollinator-friendly flowers and habitat, providing nest sites (like Michael’s hives), avoiding pesticides, and spreading the word that pollinator conservation is a critical component of caring for Earth. Pollinator conservation has broad benefits from increasing biodiversity to combating climate change. (https://xerces.org/bring-back-the-pollinators) Ask Kari about the benefits of local honey!
All of Michael and Kari’s bees died this past winter, as was also reported by neighboring beekeepers. Beekeepers have been dealing with Colony Collapse Disorder. Researchers identify causes such as pesticides, mites, disease, and parasites. Kari and Michael recommend the judicious use of pesticides. Organic or natural pesticides are recommended to deter pests and not kill bees. https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/subject/colony-collapse-disorder.
There are more species of bees than honeybees and more pollinators than bees. Not all are as safe and desirable as the honeybee which pollinates flowers and produces honey. Beware of the newest bee invader, the Africanized honeybee, a dangerous and aggressive bee. For even more information on such bees, check this: 17 Types Of Bees, Ranked By Danger Level https://www.outdoorguide.com/1542537/bee-types-ranked-danger-level/. Some conservationists are committed to differentiating between honeybees and our native North American bees: https://www.xerces.org/blog/want-to-save-bees-focus-on-habitat-not-honey-bees.
Learn more about honeybees and their impacts by clicking on www.xercees.org.
- Read the fact sheet about honey bees in North America, which is free to download, print, and share.
- Should your property or community have honeybee hives? Read the detailed recommendations for land managers on how to make decisions about honeybees.
- Discover four easy steps to bring back the pollinators, along with resources to get you started!
- Sign the Pollinator Protection Pledge and add your name to an international movement!
- This hobby fulfills a need to improve personal and environmental care for Earth. (https://xerces.org/bring-back-the-pollinators)
St. Agnes Convent campus contains flowers for bee pollination.
S. Patricia Weidman, CSA, Laudato Si’ Animator, writer
Special thank you to: Chelsea Koenigs, Laudato Si’ Animator, formatter
S. Julie Ann Krahl, CSA, editor; S. Patricia Bogenschuetz, CSA, editor
Photos of bees’ curiosity of CSA Archives