It is harvest time at the bee farm of Heli Romppanen, retailer at K-Supermarket Suosikki, and her homemade honey will soon be on sale at the store.
“The honey has already been collected from the hives for extraction and now is the time to start the autumn management activities. The bees stay awake throughout the long winter and need looking after to ensure they survive and are strong enough to start pollinating the flowers and plants when the weather starts to warm up in the spring. The bees are given a sugar solution for nourishment during the winter. I find it fascinating to watch the beehives in the winter as they radiate heat even when it’s freezing outside. They really are clever little creatures!” Romppanen says.
Romppanen came up with the idea of producing her own honey when she was finding out about the operations of various small-scale producers. In her studies, Romppanen had specialised in environmental law and wanted to make use of the expertise accumulated in her previous profession. She became so enthusiastic about beekeeping that she decided to study it at the Poke Vocational College in Northern Central Finland.
Romppanen is closely involved in the honey-production process, from start to finish, because in addition to the beekeeping, she processes the honey and puts it into jars herself. The honey has been awarded the Hyvää Suomesta (Produce of Finland) label of origin, which shows the product is made with Finnish raw materials and work.
“The most interesting and challenging aspect of beekeeping is that I am producing food right from the beginning myself – I want to look after and raise my bees so they thrive and produce delicious local food for us,” Romppanen continues.
Bees do vital work to promote biodiversity
Along with climate change, biodiversity loss is a major global threat. Pollinators, such as bees, play an important role from the perspective of biodiversity, but their numbers have been steadily declining. The production of food could be at risk if this decline continues, as most crops need to be pollinated by insects.
“In southern Europe, bees are farmed primarily for pollination and honey is just a by-product of this process. Insects can improve the quantity and quality of fruit and berry crops with pollination. They play an important role for biodiversity,” says Romppanen.
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