An Irishman who moved to Queenstown less than 10 years ago is working hard to Bee The Change locally in saving the Wakatipu’s dwindling bee populations.

Neal McAloon is passionate about protecting the beautiful natural Wakatipu environment that brought him here to settle in 2011 and is now doing more than many Kiwis to protect the basin’s ecology.

An outdoor instructor and guide, he studied for his professional apiculture qualification while rehabilitating from a ski accident.

Bee The Change, an initiative he launched with help from Startup Queenstown in spring last year, is designed to improve environmental education and awareness about all pollinators, not just the honey bee species, he says. It’s all about promoting thriving bee colonies locally by encouraging local individuals and business to sponsor hives. These are placed at three high profile strategic locations around the Wakatipu – one in the Queenstown Gardens, one at Arthur’s Point and another in Whitechapel Road adjacent to the Wakatipu Reforestation Trust’s site. Honey will eventually be sold to help fund the project and $2 from each jar of honey sold from the Whitechapel base will be donated back to the reforestation trust, says Neal.

“This isn’t just important for bees but pollination is incredibly linked to our food chain and our survival,” he says. “That’s the motivation behind it.”

“It’s globally recognised that an insect and bee mass extinction could well occur in our lifetime. This would have a catastrophic impact on global food supply,” he says.

Bees are under attack from the varroa parasite, overuse of weedkillers and sprays and monocultural farming practices, says Neal. Nature thrives on biodiversity – multiple species and plants all growing and working in unison together. That’s its natural design.

“It all adds up. Many things can cause a bee colony to collapse,” he says.

In an alarming consequence to all this, a Queenstown beekeeper had a shipment of local honey sent back from Germany recently, Neal says. “They tested it and it had such high levels of chemical spray that the German buyer said they didn’t want it in their food chain,” he says. “New Zealand is one of the highest users in the world of glyphosate herbicide. Just leave part of your garden to go wild. If we give nature a chance it will balance and correct everything,” says Neal.

Bee The Change is all about facilitating corporate social responsibility and eventually Neal aims to go ‘glocal’ – contributing on both a global and local level by shipping bee populations overseas to countries where they’re threatened. This is not a new concept and is already occurring.

“A lot of colonies are in collapse in places like China and the United States. There are huge crisis areas around the world,” he says.

While locally we may have issues and stressors on our bee populations, the Wakatipu has a relatively healthy apiculture industry.

Bee The Change plans to leverage New Zealand’s unique geographic advantage and stringent bio-security laws to assist others.

Once strong and healthy colonies are established, ‘nucleus hives’ can be shipped to crisis areas around the world to help repopulate colonies.

However, Neal’s under no illusions. “We have a long way to go to build up to that level with hundreds and hundreds of hives, but it’s about collaboration.”

To help or find more information see: beethechange.nz