We were honoured to welcome Héctor Morales Urbina and Maggie Shanahan as our guests to Salon #40. They both are beekeepers and bee researchers from Chiapas, Mexico and the United States, respectively. Maggie shares some broad context around beekeeping in Chiapas and compare and contrast beekeeping systems in the U.S. and Mexico. 

Héctor talks about how beekeepers in Chiapas and their use traditional ecological knowledge to better care for their bees and discusses the ways that the Chiapa culture shapes beekeepers’ relationships with their bees. Together, Maggie and Héctor discuss beekeeper-led strategies to build resilience in the face of industrialisation, broadening focus to consider not just beekeeping practices, but beekeeping systems.

Supporting Links:

Héctor's article:

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/W2RM79S8ZAZZ4GH5A54H/full?target=10.1080/21683565.2025.2475464

Sign-up sheet to receive forthcoming Guidance Memo on Building Resilient Beekeeping Systems:

https://forms.gle/2BPn3jPpjyLcwjW98

Kaylin Kleckner is a PhD Candidate at the University of Florida Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory. Through collaboration with Rhodes University, Kaylin conducts field research with wild and unmanaged honey bees in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. She used beelining techniques to locate 130 nest sites to study nesting ecology, population structure, and disease dynamics. Long term, she aims to inform local land management decisions and pollinator conservation initiatives in Africa.

Neste podcast, conversamos com Felipe Mendes, do Brasil. Felipe é um apicultor e consultor arbóreo e biodinâmico, pioneiro em abordagens inovadoras de manejo animal por meio do uso de TreeNests (colmeias em toras). Ele trabalha com híbridos de Apis mellifera scutellata (abelhas africanizadas) e colaborou com o Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) no Brasil, um movimento social que ocupa terras agrícolas não utilizadas para promover a agricultura sustentável e a autossuficiência econômica.

In this Salon we are joined by  Dr Susan Murphy Roshi from Australia. Susan is a distinguished Zen teacher with a profound interest in the intersection of Zen practice and indigenous Australian concepts of 'care for country'. For 25 years, she co-led walks in Country with the late, highly respected indigenous Elder, Dulumunmun, Uncle Max Harrison, exploring the deep connections between these traditions. Susan's work emphasizes the transformative power of Zen koans in addressing life's challenges, particularly our duty of care for the Earth. Her latest book, "A Fire Runs Through All Things: Zen Koans for Facing the Climate Crisis," reflects this focus, offering a unique spiritual and philosophical approach to confronting the environmental crisis. Her approach encourages a shift in consciousness, moving beyond purely practical solutions to foster a deeper, more compassionate relationship with our planet. In this inspiring conversation with Susan, we explore how Zen wisdom can help us navigate the complexities of the climate crisis and cultivate a more profound sense of interconnectedness with the Earth.

Dylan Ryals is a life-long beekeeper with experience working on commercial pollination and queen-rearing apiaries. He is currently a PhD student under Dr. Brock Harpur at Purdue University where he studies honey bee genetics and breeding. He will speak on his ongoing research uncovering bee ancestry, genetic diversity, and population structure across the United States with special attention to feral and non-commercial populations.