'Bee Collaborative': Protecting Pollinators, Promoting Apitherapy
When Silvia Viazankova speaks to kindergartners about bees, she lets them handle the non-stinging male drones to build awareness of pollinators and to eliminate fear. She holds up a plastic flower, a bee and an apple to explain how bees help to produce their favorite fruits. She lets them try on beekeeping gear. And she even lets a female bee sting her hand. Then she shows them a simple way to remove the stinger before the venom sac muscle pumps most of the venom into the body.
By day, Viazankova is a logistics administrator at the Magna Slovteca division in Slovakia. In her spare time, she is a certified beekeeper and an educator who speaks to kids about protecting pollinators and to adults about apitherapy.
Silvia Viazankova, Logistics Administrator
“We should learn from the bees. They understand their jobs, and they work effectively as a group.”
Apitherapy is an alternative therapy that uses products made by honeybees for medicinal purposes. These products include honey, beeswax, royal jelly, pollen, propolis, and bee venom.
“Bees not only have a great impact on the Earth,” Viazankova said. “They can help us cultivate our health in a natural way.”
The 12-year Magna veteran said her interest in bees began when she was on maternity leave following the birth of her son Imrich. Today, the six-year-old helps his mother and father Martin maintain five stations with three or more hives each in their hometown of Zabudisova and other locations in Slovakia. He lends a hand in crafting beeswax candles and extracting honey.
Viazankova’s family is dedicated to conservation on two fronts.
In addition to supporting what environmentalists call the “most influential insect” for sustaining human life, they have planted more than 400 trees at home and throughout their village. Planting fruit trees can make a difference by increasing habitat favorable to pollinators. Bees are essential to pollinate many fruit crops, including plums and cherries.
Viazankova admires bees because they are nature’s example of the Magna Core Value “be collaborative” and a model of teamwork. They are also among the most energetic and hardworking living beings. But they are also under threat, with bee populations in decline over recent decades due to farming practices, weather changes and pesticides.
“We should learn from the bees,” she said. “They understand their jobs, and they work effectively as a group. We need to protect them and educate our kids about their importance.”
We want to hear from you
Send us your questions, thoughts and inquiries or engage in the conversation on social media.
Related Stories
Stay connected
You can stay connected with Magna News and Stories through email alerts sent to your inbox in real time.