With Sisters’ Support, ‘Honey’ of a Law Passes

The Dominican Sisters of Hope know the sweetness of victory—they were among many proponents of legislation in favor of beekeeping that recently passed unanimously in Ossining.

The vote by the board of trustees of the Westchester village took place May 21. The sisters have been working for the past three years to help override a long-standing ordinance against beekeeping.

“We want to stress the whole spirituality of our connection to all the animals that were created before us. They are our kin and we have to take care of them,” said Sister Nancy Erts, O.P., a program specialist at the sisters’ Mariandale Retreat and Conference Center in Ossining.

“It’s important especially for good, healthy food,” she added.

“Nature’s diversity is like a metaphor,” she said. “Diversity brings about beautiful unity, like you would see in a stained glass window, that comes together into one beautiful picture.”

The Mariandale center is set on the sisters’ lush 56-acre property in Ossining that is home to their administrative offices. The landscape features an outdoor labyrinth, nature trails and a community garden. The sisters are now planting vegetables and flowers so that by next spring honeybees will be able to pollinate on the grounds.

The law sets in place protection from liability for the village as well as safety standards and protection for the bees.

Sister Bette Ann Jaster, O.P., a councilor on the sisters’ leadership team, said the law seeks to ensure that both people and bees will be kept safe.

“We have retreatants, and we don’t want bees to be close to the road or in the way of nature paths,” Sister Bette Ann said.

She said people can learn a lot by observing and interacting with the natural world all around them, including how to be still, how to meditate and how to relate to and appreciate nature.

Regina Blakeslee, a master gardener who has been a volunteer for four years, will serve as one of the beekeepers. Other members of the sisters’ congregation, as well as Carlos Santiago, physical plant manager at Mariandale, will take classes on beekeeping offered by the village once a month.

The sisters are hard at work collecting donations to support the project. They are also educating others about honeybees. They showed a film at the Ossining Library last month on the importance of bees. Ossining Mayor Bill Hanauer attended the screening and asked questions, as did other viewers.

“We see this as a place of faith, and also of new ways of expressing that faith,” Sister Betty Ann said. “We hope to build that sense of wonder and amazement for nature.”