The Bee Sanctuary

Anton Erlacher

President. Construction biologist, energy consultant. As a beekeeper he has been working for many years on sustainable beekeeping methods and biodynamic beekeeping. In 2012 he founded the Non-Profit-Organisation “Bienenschutzgarten” (Bee Sanctuary) together with his wife Lena Erlacher. He has been lecturing and giving workshops on biodynamic beekeeping and supervising research based on biodynamic beekeeping and its application.

Anton in person

To some people it might sound rather strange but for me it is a fact: I can hear the honeybee´s cry for help. I am convinced that all beekeepers that attentively care for their bees can see the trouble the bees are in. Most of the traditional beekeeping associations and intensive commercial beekeepers still aim for maximum efficency in beekeeping. By doing this they supress the natural evolution of the honeybee to an extend that is rarely seen in animal domestication. Today our honeybees are bred to high performance. Sadly, the bees pay for this by not being able to survive without medication. The Bee Sanctary as a natural and intact habitat can become a model for a new culture of beekeeping. Sufficient flower resources during the entire year, natural and biodynamic beekeeping and returning to natural selection are the basis upon which our bee populations can revive. Our biggest aim is to get strong and healthy bee populations with intact immune systems to fend off parasites and pathogens.

I would be very pleased if many people want to join us and walk the way together towards a better future for our honey bees.

Lena Erlacher

Vice-president. Holistic naturopath. In charge of administration. She is helping the bees health through naturopathy, herbal medicine and planet constellation research (by Maria and Mathias Thun). She is giving workshops and organizes public relation.

Lena in person:

At the beginning of my relationship with the honeybees I made sure to keep my distance and should they come too close I would run away panicking.

Then we set up a watering place for the bees on our terrace and I started watching them curiously. Soon I was taking pictures and three weeks later I had become the guardian of the honeybee´s water place! This is how the bees came to me and how I came to love them. It seems that there has been a deep bond for a long time between bees and humans and that we are only alive because they exist. The gift of fertility and prosperity which the bees have been giving freely to our planet and all its inhabitants is priceless. Right now we are running the risk of loosing it! In the Bee Sanctuary we respect the life of the honeybees and their innate needs and we protect their natural habitat.

Martina Kriegbaum

Carmen Dreier-Zwetti

Biologist, research, mother of two sons, handy girl for everything that has to get done in her partner’s fruit growing company, telephone joker when Naturpark Pöllauer Tal runs short of staff.

Carmen in person:

My first contact with Anton and Lena at the Sonnentor Harvest and Herbs Celebration was as much unexpected as joyful. Sitting and talking under a little apple tree we soon realised that we share the same holistic approach, not just in regards to bees. As a biologist I too would like to contribute to this worthy cause using my scientific approach.

I also want to cooperate with organisations and companies that might not have earned any credit for bee protection yet. If we want to ensure lasting protection of honeybees and other pollinators, many different institutions and organisations will have to come together and take part in the process.

Anna Lenz

Mag Florian Dittrich

Josef Wildbacher

our bee counselor. Master beekeeper. Specialist for honeybee health and epidemic bee diseases. He has been a beekeeper for more than four decades and is supporting the Beesanctuary with his profound knowledge and experience.

Josef in person:

Modern agriculture has made plant diversity almost dissapear – now all we can see are ecological desserts and English lawns with hedges of Thuja. Meadows aren´t left to blossom but instead are mown shortly before in order to get the most protein possible in the the fodder. But our bees do need blossoms! Without them the bees lack the vitamin B group which is essential to their health. When I started with beekeeping, which was 40 years ago, the honeybees would have ignored maize since there were plenty of flowers and blossoms. The meadows got only mown twice a year. Today the cornfields stretch far as the eye can see and our honeybees depend on the maize pollen. Collecting it they transport the toxic pestizides straight into their hives. The Beesanctuary is creating a big diversity of flowering plants for bees and thus of an enormous importance.

BERNHARD HAANL

Hilliard Rennau