Catharine Reeves may be a government worker by day, but in her own time she is doing all she can to save the bees. In this clip from CNN, Reeves is just one of many normal citizens who have begun beekeeping operations at their own homes in an attempt to help restore declining bee populations.
Bees have been dying off at alarming rates, with 2/3 of all bees surviving last winter. Parasites are partially responsible for the increased death rate, though the entire cause remains a mystery, with some speculating a variety of possibilities like cell phone radiation, pesticides, air pollution, and climate change. Because bees are an integral part of a large number of human food sources -- their pollination required for countless crops -- many people are recognizing the dire need to take swift action toward reversing the steep decline in bee populations before it's too late.
Barry Thompson is one such beekeeper, who describes the bee situation in America as "devastating." Thompson holds training classes to teach anyone interested how to keep bees, which he says can be done relatively anywhere, from a porch to apartment building roof. With extremely low costs and minimal time required to maintain a hive, many people are becoming amateur beekeepers, just like Reeves.
As she says, "There's a problem, and we need people to keep bees...because it will affect all of us."
WATCH everyday citizens saving the bees: