Women beekeepers 'astonished' by global response to world record attempt

From all over Australia to war-torn Ukraine, snow-covered Maine, and the Mongolian Steppes: Passionate women from around the globe have set a new world for "the most photos of

women beekeeping uploaded in 24 hours." The brainchild of Tasmanian-based female collaboration, Sister Hives Australia, the group hoped to make a small difference in

promoting diversity in beekeeping.   But they were "blown away" by the global response when 1,300 participants answered the call — to make women feel more connected,

confident, and proud of their beekeeping journey. Co-organiser Jenni McLeod was thrilled to reveal that 2.8 million people were reached through social media using the tag

#BeekeepingWorldRecord. "It has just been astonishing. It was so exciting to see photos going up," Ms McLeod said. "Not just from Tasmania, not just from Australia,

but at least 25 countries from all over the world. "We had women from Mongolia, Moldova, Japan, all over the USA, all over the UK, Poland, Czechoslovakia and one woman from

Ukraine, who's also going to be part of our documentary."Beekeeping in a battle zone As battle raged around her in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, Elya Inozemtseva spoke to Sister

Hives Australia via Zoom about beekeeping, and her fascinating research into creating a robotic hive. "And she was telling us that she was listening to bombs falling around

her apiary, while she'd get up the next day and go and check her bees," Ms MacLeod marvelled. "For us sitting here in Australia, we're so sheltered from all of those

tensions that are happening in the world and to hear her carrying on with her life like normal was just … it's hard to imagine."