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Legalize It! Couple Campaigns for Backyard Beekeeping in City Limits
Photo by Van Truan via Shutterstock
See a bee in your backyard? Rob and Chelsea McFarland are begging you not to call the exterminator.
The westside couple, according to Culver City Patch, is on a crusade to legalize beekeeping in Los Angeles city limits and bring the good news about bees to the masses (who might only hear horror stories like this).
The couple first got interested in beekeeping when they watched the documentary "The Vanishing of the Bees," which deals with the decline in global bee populations. It wasn't long before Rob started making calls to move bees onto a farm in Simi Valley and Chelsea started dressing up in a bee costume at the farmer's markets and painting her toes with black-and-yellow stripes.
The couple became interested in bees when they learned that they could get involved in protecting a species in their own backyard.
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“It was like, why do we have to fly all the way to Indonesia to help the world?” Chelsea told Culver City Patch. “We can do it right here in our backyard.”
Santa Monica legalized it this year, and now the couple has its sights on Los Angeles. The couple has been working with the neighborhood council in Mar Vista to start up an urban beekeeping pilot program in the neighborhood patterned after Santa Monica's.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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