For many people, Morgan Freeman is still best-known as the voice of God. But now the iconic 84-year-old actor has created his very own Garden of Eden after transforming his 124-acre ranch into a bee sanctuary to help save the planet. Freeman previously spoke about his love of beekeeping in this interview with Jimmy Fallon: [[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/iLHcUIXQ-Q0L14jDU.mp4||iLHcUIXQ]] Per <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2019/03/20/morgan-freeman-converted-his-124-acre-ranch-into-a-giant-honeybee-sanctuary-to-save-the-bees/?sh=6d6a77dbdfa5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes</a>, the Dark Knight Rises star imported 26 beehives from Arkansas and moved them to the estate of his sprawling property in Charleston, Mississippi. Freeman first spoke about his then-recent love of beekeeping in a 2014 interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, stating that he had a large number of bee-friendly flowers for them to pollinate, stating: <blockquote>"There is a concerted effort for bringing bees back onto the planet… We do not realize that they are the foundation, I think, of the growth of the planet, the vegetation. "I have a lot of flowering things, and I have a gardener too. As she takes care of the bees too, all she does is figure out: 'OK, what would they like to have?' "So we have got acres and acres of clover, and we have some planting stuff like lavender. I have got like, maybe 140 magnolia trees, big blossoms."</blockquote> [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/BvCw0EuFt37/]] He added: "I have not ever used the beekeeping hat with my bees. They haven’t stung me yet, as right now I am not trying to harvest honey or anything, but I just feed them. "I also think that they understand: 'Hey, don’t bother this guy, he’s got sugar water here.'" Bee numbers have been in a steep decline over the last 50 years, with the organization Bee Informed Partnership reporting a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/10/11652246/honeybee-loss-44-percent-colonies-us-2015-2016" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">44% loss in bee colonies</a> between 2015 and 2016 in the United States alone. The <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/colony-collapse-disorder">EPA has highlighted</a> Colony Collapse Disorder as their primary reason for their population drop, as well as parasites such as  Varroa destructor and Nosema ceranae. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/green4EMA/status/1108843500055883776]] However, the decline of hives also blamed on the use of genetically modified crops, harmful pesticides, and a worldwide loss of flowering plants in a 2015 study published in <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6229/1255957.abstract">Science</a>. Although there is no evidence to suggest that bee species are in danger of extinction in the near future, the shortage of hives will have a knock-on effect on their ecosystems. What's more, according to a 2015 study published in the zoological journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8414" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nature</a>, a mere 2% of bees have been found to be responsible for pollinating 80% of crops on the planet Earth. <h6>Featured Image Credit: Alamy/PA Images</h6>

Morgan Freeman transforms his 124-acre ranch into bee sanctuary to save the planet

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