Brigit Strawbridge Howard on Rediscovering Nature

Brigit Strawbridge Howard on Rediscovering Nature

Bee advocate, wildlife gardener and naturalist Brigit Strawbridge Howard was alarmed the moment she realized she knew more about the French Revolution than the native trees around her. Howard’s realization that she had lost touch with the natural world led her on a journey deep into the fascinat ing world of honeybees, bumblebees, and the often unsung superpollinator solitary bees, chronicled in her book Dancing with Bees: A Journey Back to Nature. Howard writes, speaks and campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of native wild bees and other pollinating insects. She lives in North Dorset, England, with her husband, Rob, where they love to bee-watch in their backyard garden. What first piqued your interest in bees? Initially, apocalyptic headlines about bee decline and colony collapse with female worker bees leaving hives and not coming back alarmed me from a human food chain perspective. It happened to be around the time I realized I had completely lost touch with the natural world I so loved as a child. I started looking for bees and became completely immersed in their world; the more I watched them, the more I lost track of time and the more questions I had. I also began to more worry about the bees themselves than about their decline’s effect on us. by April Thompson

Bees have been a portal to the natural world for me. It happens when many people get interested in a specific species because everything is interconnected, and you start to notice the whole web of life. What makes bees distinct from other kinds of insects? Bees go out specifically to collect pollen and nectar to feed their larvae; other insects eat pollen and are important pollinators, but don’t collect it for their young. They also tend to visit the same flower species again and again, which other pollinators don’t always do. How has your study of bees affected you personally? I dropped out of school as a teenager. Bees are the only thing I’ve truly ever studied; I am self-taught in insect biology and ecology. I have read scientific papers that I would have never thought were for the likes of me in my quest to understand more about bees.

Also, when I feel overwhelmed with life, because of my interest in bees I have something else to focus on. I can lose hours and hours walking in the woods and totally forget my problems. I have learned to tune into the tiny things, the fungi and miniscule plants I would have otherwise walked past. It’s never too late to reconnect and find the curiosity and awe that you experienced as a child.

What is one of the most interesting aspects of bee behavior? Some years ago, I remember vividly a day on my patio listening to bees with my eyes closed and seeing if I could recognize them by their buzzes. Bumblebees have a deep booming buzz, for example, and I recognized this, but suddenly it changed to a high-pitched sound like a dental drill. I opened my eyes, and it was a bumblebee going round and round the sides of a Welsh poppy, sounding really frantic and having a pollen bath. As it turns out, she was sonicating, otherwise known as buzz foraging. This is how bees pollinate tomatoes. A lot of flowers don’t give up pollen easily, but the bumblebee knows exactly what to do. It grasps the flower and continues to vibrate without moving its wings. This produces high-frequency vibrations that trigger the tomato flower to open and explodes pollen out onto the bee.

What are a few ways that we can help support bee populations? Maintain gardens, backyards and balconies with a variety of nectar-rich plants and create habitat for bees to nest in. Plant flowers that will bloom in succession. Stop using pesticides, insecticides and other chemicals, because the bees are taking that cocktail of chemicals back to the hive or nest, and collectively they are more dangerous than the sum of their parts. Also, dare to be less tidy in your garden; grow wildflowers and let flowering weeds like clover and dandelions be. Watch and see what comes. It won’t just be the bees: If we get it right for the bees, it spirals out to other species.

It’s never too late to reconnect and find the curiosity and awe that you experienced as a child. It was bees that captured my attention and imagination; for someone else it may be something else, but if you make time to stop, sit and look around you, you will find the wonder in nature.

April Thompson is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C. Connect at AprilWrites.com.

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GROWING OLD? I n a society where elders are too often belittled, denigrated and dismissed, it is no wonder people are afraid to grow old. Youth is marketed and glorified. Yet for those of us over 50, who would really want to be 20 again, if we couldn’t take our experience and wisdom with us?

Unfortunately a huge percentage of the elderly in the U.S. are sick and broken. Not because of their time on the planet, but because of their choices around food, rest, work, exercise, living their purpose and lack of spinal care. Most Americans get their teeth and eyes checked regularly, but never get their brain and nervous system checked by a chiropractor. A small percentage of Americans have gone to chiropractors when they really hurt, but that’s like going to the dentist just in time for the root canal and never getting teeth cleaned.

Our nervous system continually needs to be refreshed and rebooted, a lot like a phone. If we do not take care of our spine, we will lose strength, flexibility and efficiency. This vastly accelerates the aging process.

The beauty of growing old is all the wisdom and experience we attain. But if our body is broken and we have low energy, it is hard to express and share all our profound knowing and gifts. Research on chiropractic shows that people are three times more likely to make healthier lifestyle choices when they take care of their spine.

Dr. Joanne Haupert at Inspired Healing is forming a saging circle of people over the age of 50, coming together to explore what it means to be an elder, what it’s like to live in a culture where the elderly are not usually respected, how to access and express our wisdom more fully and more. Connect at 520-584-0343.

Breathe Cleaner Air to Help Bone Health

Air pollution has long been linked to lung cancer, stroke and respiratory disease, and now research has found that it can lead to osteoporosis, as well. Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health studied the bone mass and density of 3,717 people living in villages near Hyderabad, India. These were compared to fine particulate air pollution levels, which averaged more than three times the recommendations of the World Health Organization. The researchers also surveyed in-home cooking over wood, coal and other biomass sources. The results showed that exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with lower levels of bone mass, and that cooking over fires did not have that effect. “Inhalation of polluting particles could lead to bone mass loss through the oxidative stress and inflammation caused by air pollution,” says lead author Otavio T. Ranzani. bodywork brief

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Web of Life Animists Offer Trainings for Spirit Work and More F eeling called during this time of rapid change? Beginning in May, these six- and 12-month trainings, held in Tucson and online, have been created by Web of Life Animists to enhance and explore our intuitive abilities, with the ultimate intention of conducting healing work in our community.

Quynn Red Mountain created these non-dogmatic trainings to empower Earth honoring people who are ready to be of service to Earth and her peoples (human and others) in authentic and legitimate ways. We approach this work from an animist viewpoint and see social justice, decolonization and personal/ancestral healing as integral parts of helpful and authentic Spirituality. Donation amounts for each offering are listed as a sliding scale to ensure greater access for participants across the financial spectrum. Red Mountain’s policy is that for those who apply and feel called to this

Online Animist Minister Ordainment Training As a minister, have the accreditation and legal authority to conduct Animist religious worship in the form of wedding and rites of passage ceremonies, individual pastoral counsel sessions, land and space blessings and more. Practice radical self-love and learn effective methods of social advocacy, which have the power to transform the world around us.

The training is designed to inspire all to find their own unique path of ministry in alignment with the practices of the Web of Life Animist Church. These practices include: honoring our similarities and differences with all living creatures, listening to our ancestors as well as the Spirits of the Web of Life, being a keeper of sacred traditions and healing ways in community ancestral lineages (and finding/creating ways when ancestral ways have been lost), supporting and advocating for members of congregation, and tending the healing of personal and cultural traumas to have the capacity to hold space for others.

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In a practical sense, learn how to create a niche for these services and how to spread the word about offerings, as well as ethics and good practices for an Animist healing practitionership.

This training will take place the first and third Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. MST. Find out all details at Tinyurl.com/SpiritBridgeHealing1Yr.

DNA Warriors – Ancestral Healing Online Training This six-month personal development series takes participants through biweekly personal rites of passage, honored by journeying, journaling and ceremony, to clearly feel where our ancestral traumas are buried, and gain tools for unearthing and healing them over time.

On the second Sunday of the month, beginning May 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. MST, the group meets online/in Tucson to explore the subjects of the month and journey together to Red Mountain’s drum. This meeting is recorded for those who cannot attend live. On the fourth Sunday of these months, receive a link to a 45-minute audio session. During each session, Red Mountain shares an introduction to the current subject, and then two drum journeys to connect with guidance from, and connection with, one’s inner world. It is important to journal experiences, to help remember. Participants can discuss the explorations in the live monthly meetings.

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