BEElive!

The project is carried out in a land located near a small town, in the region of Puglia, in southern Italy. The land, which we acquired in September 2017, and where we have started to plant trees, is now flat and without vegetation in its most part, since for years it was dedicated to intensive agriculture.
We need trees and plants that are especially attractive to pollinating insects. (fruit trees such as peach trees, pear trees, cherry trees, almond trees, rosemary plants, thyme, lemon balm, clover, sage, dandelion, marigold ...)
We will install three to five hives of the "Top bar" type (each one will host a bee colony).
We will install "insect hotels".
On the same land an ecological garden will be cultivated. The health of plants and vegetables will depend on the surrounding ecosystem. In an area with high occupation of land for intensive agriculture, we want to differentiate ourselves, promoting a new perspective for small scale farmers: where organic farming and the interest towards the repopulation of pollinators predominate, where quality and proximity production is pursued , and where the farmer's work has direct contact with the final consumer.
We believe in the social value of the project, and we will offer environmental education and awareness activities in parallel. We will also promote dissemination at various levels and areas: schools, community, farmers, civic centers, urban gardens, green roofs, and similar projects.

OBJECTIVES:

• Create a favorable environment for the reproduction and dissemination of pollinating insects.
• Support biodiversity through practices that increase plant diversity, offering availability of flowers for pollinators in all seasons.
• Support a healthy and sustainable agricultural model.
• Offer healthy, good and local grown vegetable products to the community.
• Spread the family beekeeping.
• Raise awareness of the importance of all pollinating insects, (not only of domestic bees) and the need to maintain a healthy environment for their survival.
• Encourage the creation of an "apicultural zone" (through a network of family beehives).
• Involve small landowners, supporting them in the creation of spaces "friends of the bees".
• Involve also the local community through visits and workshops, (dissemination of the organic garden model).
• Dissemination at local, national and international level.

The use of pesticides and other agrochemicals, and the loss of natural ecosystems in favor of intensive agriculture are some of the main factors that have contributed to the dramatic decline of bees and pollinating insects. Food crops depend heavily on pollination, and it is estimated that between 60 and 90 percent of wild plants depend on the pollination of insects for reproduction.

Intensive agriculture, based on the cultivation of a single crop over vast areas, is one of the main causes for the disappearance of biodiversity.
The experience in the cultivation of the Ortantó vegetable garden has made us notice and appreciate the life inside the ecological garden. The visits of pollinators attracted by flowers have multiplied: wild bees, bumblebees, butterflies and other insects. The presence of reptiles (including turtles), diurnal and nocturnal birds has also increased. Every morning we have been able to observe a surprising life and hence the idea of promoting, through bees, an ecosystem that autonomously develops its defenses, without the intervention of chemical and insecticide products. Our motivation comes from the firsh hand experience which has brought us closer to the world of bees, and has allowed us to understand their fundamental importance for the health of the ecosystem, and the conviction for the need to adopt a model of agricultural production, alternative to intensive monoculture and supporting small producers and the local market.

We are also motivated by the challenge that our project supposes: inserted in a context of intensive agriculture, where there are also small abandoned plots of land, we want to create an important focus for the repopulation of bees and where a different model of agriculture is promoted. Caring for bees and the ecosystem means being able to offer healthy and quality vegetables. Our beneficiaries are mainly our allies: the bees. And consequently the ecosystem, the local production, the consumer and those who will be involved to spread the model through a network of family apiaries.

For the past seven years, Antonio has been Ortanto's main driver: an organic vegetable garden born of first-person experience, passion and the principles of Antonio, who grows vegetables for family consumption, and for sale through solidarity consumption group. Peasant from the South of Italy, works in the respect to the land and to the care of the quality of the vegetables in front of the quantity. That is why he prefers to call himself a peasant and not a farmer. He does not only use chemical products and follows the calm rhythm of the earth. Quality not only refers to a good and healthy product but also to be able to work observing a living garden: insects that help its care, pollinators that come and go among flowers, animals which find water and shade ...

From this experience comes BEElive! In the team, Antonio takes care of preparing the land, planting more trees and suitable plants, carrying the ecological garden and monitoring and care of the hives.

Simona lives with one foot in the land of Ortanto 'and with another foot in Barcelona. Always with a suitcase at hand and a dream trip in the head. In spite of this dynamism, she is then able to spend whole hours observing a caterpillar eating a leaf or following a bumblebee from one flower to another. Language teacher for adults, environmental educator and passionate about illustration, she has found in the communication the common ground between her passions. She loves working with people: for her, teaching is a continuous learning, sharing and building in common. It will be responsible for the organization of workshops, information sessions and dissemination of the project, in order to promote and support similar initiatives in favor of the creation of bee friendly areas (whether it is a land, a garden or a balcony).
Maurizio is an expert beekeeper, who will help in the implantation of bee colonies and the monitoring of their good health and maintenance.
Bees and other pollinating insects are an indispensable part of the team! They are the indicator of environmental health and of fundamental importance for biodiversity.