"A Keynote Species" by Paul Busekist
Collecting pollen the old-fashioned way
Visiting to the River Trail Nature Center in Northbrook, Illinois was an exercise in letting go of my expectations of what a forest preserve is, and holding on to the mystery of what wild mercy can be.
Or “bee” – as the case may be.
Tucked into a corner of the nature center building at RTNC is a live bee colony. They call the room “Buzz On In,” and it is connected to the outdoors with a pipeline extending through the wall to the wood and glass structure on the room’s interior. This is quite a display of what nature’s quietly buzzing movers and shakers can do, even in the coldest of temperatures. Actually, bees are somehow able to maintain a year-long baseline temperature of 92 degrees Fahrenheit in their colonies, even without human assistance. Experts say this is due to the friction of their wings and the body heat they provide in a confined space. One way to look at this means of survival – especially in frigid “outside” temperatures – is that bees thrive, and depend, on community.
What else do the bees teach us? Well, they depend on other organisms (flowers for nectar and pollen), and in turn, many other species (including humans) depend on them. In fact, bees are considered a “keystone species” by many, as their pollination of crops is so important that bees help keep entire ecosystems together. In fact, in places where bees are disappearing because of pollution and other human factors, bees are now physically transported by humans (in hives via cargo vehicles) hundreds of miles to do their work. For us…though the bees might not feel like it.
Holding on, letting go. That is essentially what bees do: hold on to nectar and pollen, only to let it go into honey-making processes, and into the plants we grow to feed ourselves and our livestock. How do we hold on to the things that are good for us and for God’s Creation, and how do we let go of the things that are not? These are big challenges and some of the questions bees provoke us to ask.
This is just one of the many ways God’s mercy comes to us in the wild. Spiritually, bodily, and otherwise.
Are we looking and listening to the Wild Mercy of God?
-PB
Or “bee” – as the case may be.
Tucked into a corner of the nature center building at RTNC is a live bee colony. They call the room “Buzz On In,” and it is connected to the outdoors with a pipeline extending through the wall to the wood and glass structure on the room’s interior. This is quite a display of what nature’s quietly buzzing movers and shakers can do, even in the coldest of temperatures. Actually, bees are somehow able to maintain a year-long baseline temperature of 92 degrees Fahrenheit in their colonies, even without human assistance. Experts say this is due to the friction of their wings and the body heat they provide in a confined space. One way to look at this means of survival – especially in frigid “outside” temperatures – is that bees thrive, and depend, on community.
What else do the bees teach us? Well, they depend on other organisms (flowers for nectar and pollen), and in turn, many other species (including humans) depend on them. In fact, bees are considered a “keystone species” by many, as their pollination of crops is so important that bees help keep entire ecosystems together. In fact, in places where bees are disappearing because of pollution and other human factors, bees are now physically transported by humans (in hives via cargo vehicles) hundreds of miles to do their work. For us…though the bees might not feel like it.
Holding on, letting go. That is essentially what bees do: hold on to nectar and pollen, only to let it go into honey-making processes, and into the plants we grow to feed ourselves and our livestock. How do we hold on to the things that are good for us and for God’s Creation, and how do we let go of the things that are not? These are big challenges and some of the questions bees provoke us to ask.
This is just one of the many ways God’s mercy comes to us in the wild. Spiritually, bodily, and otherwise.
Are we looking and listening to the Wild Mercy of God?
-PB