My Dear North Haven Community,

My name is Zebadiah Campbell. I am a North Haven oyster farmer and beekeeper …and a lover of the natural world, an environmentalist, a person who cares deeply about our island and all the living plants and animals that live on it. I spend days working with the natural flow of the island and I pay close attention to the health of our island ecosystem. Four years ago I started beekeeping because I loved honey. In the last four years, my love for the bees has grown to be much stronger than my love for the honey. Everywhere I go on the island during foraging season for the bees, primarily May-October, I pay attention to what is blooming, and what’s available for the bees to put up for winter stores. In early spring it’s the deciduous and fruit trees and dandelions. In the summer, clover and milkweed. In the fall, goldenrod and asters. Every one of these plants, and many many more are critical for bees and many other pollinating insects. For instance, goldenrod is an incredible resource for pollinators: more than 120 species of butterflies and moths eat the nectar and pollen, along with hundreds of species of bees. It’s especially important to monarch butterflies in fall, when milkweed is in decline.

Historically, North Haven is a farming society. Though it has only a fraction of farms that once operated here we are left with many beautiful meadows, once pasture for livestock, or fields used for haying. Bees rely on these meadows to forage for food, and when properly mowed and managed they can produce hundreds of gallons of nectar that bees will use to make delicious honey.

I have seen that most of these meadows are mowed in the summer, July to early August, when bees are working all day gathering nectar for winter. When you mow this time of year you’re taking away a huge portion of food source available to the bees and other insects. And the loss of all of those insects hurts bird populations too: there are 30% fewer birds in North America than there were fifty years ago, and a big part of that is the loss of the seeds and insects that they need to survive.

Now, this is where I ask you, would you be willing to change your mowing habits? Here is my request: please mow just once a year, in mid-October or later. This gives the wildflowers time to go to seed, so the population of wildflowers in the meadow will grow year by year. Watch the pollinators come. We have a small patch of meadow at the oyster farm property, and in the last two years, after timed mowing, goldenrod and milkweed have returned and have begun to spread and the amount of biodiversity that has come back is amazing.

I believe that on North Haven we have an amazing opportunity to create a HAVEN for birds, bees, and other insects, which are the foundation for life. If you are willing to have a conversation with me about this, please feel free to contact me. If you want to pledge to mow in mid-October or later, I have a bee sign you can put in your meadow (or lawn) indicating that it’s a “Bee North Haven” property. I am also offering a free jar of honey at the end of the year for anyone who is willing to participate.

If you do not have a meadow on your property, there are still things that you can do to help wild pollinators. If you have a lawn, extending the amount of time between mows can allow more time for flowers to bloom and bees to forage. A well-trimmed lawn is a dead zone for pollinators. I understand that lawns are great for playing sports, for kids to run around and all those fun summer activities. But consider making your lawn smaller. Ask yourself, how much lawn do I really need? Once you have figured that out, mow that area, and let the rest of your property grow free so birds, bees and all the important insects can thrive on this island.

I hope this letter finds you in good health and well bee-ing!

Sincerely,

Zebadiah Campbel W.E.B.B.