18 Summer 2025 | edibleseattle.com “I’m more cautious now,” says Amy Beth. “It’s sad that [tension] is there at all. We feel more strongly about giving people more context and connection to bees and pollinators. To us, what’s good for honeybees is good for native bees, is good for honeybees, is good for native bees, right? We should all be planting more flowers.” To that end, they spend a lot of time trying to educate people about not just their honeybees and other pollinators, but also the effects of harmful weed killers and invasive plants. One of these, Himalayan Blackberry, is very commonly pollinated by honeybees, but notoriously invasive. Peter says while as beekeepers they like the blackberry blossom honey, they also realize the effects of such a pervasive non-native plant. They recently launched a new honey flight, a trio of native wildflower honeys—fireweed, snowberry and meadowfoam. The trio is actually a collaboration with a few PNW beekeepers. It’s a good chance to spread some love for native plants, while also enjoying some really good honey. Their hard work is paying off in other ways too. This year, Rainy Day Bees received a Snail of Approval award from Slow Food Seattle, an organization celebrating people in Puget Sound who are working towards a more sustainable and just food system. They’re also working on opening a retail space, where folks can find their honey and other products outside of farmers market hours. “For us, it’s not an either-or conversation,” says Amy Beth. “Our world is complicated, and we want to have these conversations about what is right and what’s sustainable. All pollination is so important. We might not change the world, but we can do our thing—we can offer amazing employment in a really cool job to our beekeepers, and we can bring bees to people’s backyards where they get to watch and wonder at them. Spending that time, even just sitting and being present with the natural world—and if we can get people much better tasting honey too? It’s another thing we can use to connect.” Rainy Day Bees 1240 NE 175th Street, Suite B Shoreline, WA 98155 Opening soon! rainydaybees.com Lindsay Kucera is the editor of Edible Sea le. She’s passionate about our region’s wild foods, and food justice. She’s on Instagram as @the_omnomnivore. Theodora Teodosiadis, founder of Studio Moss, is a Seattle-based food, product and lifestyle photographer known for capturing dramatic, bright, and mouth-watering moments. You can find her work at theodoraart.com or on Instagram @theodora.photo. “The magic around the neighborhood-specific honey is that the bees are all around. People in the neighborhoods feel real ownership of the bees.” —Amy Beth Nolte www.maelstrombrewing.com
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