Highlighting the importance of cast and crew health and safety during bee colony relocation in film production

Bee Czar Filming – Summertime Beekeeping

Beekeeping is an important occupation that has a substantial impact on our environment and community. However, sometimes bees will colonize in unwanted locations, such as homes and businesses, which may create hazardous conditions for occupants. Fortunately, there are professionals that specialize in safe and humane relocation of the colonies.

To highlight this important occupation and service, a production company was tasked with filming of honeybee extractions and relocations from homes and businesses in which they colonized. To ensure that production cast and crew were able to film these extractions and relocations safely, our ChemRisk team was asked to provide occupational safety and health support.

We helped the production company identify all potential hazards and develop safety and health plans to protect workers. Additionally, we developed short guides for the crew to be readily aware of heat stress and bee safety at all times, particularly when burdened with personal protective equipment. To ensure that all the crew were aware of these hazards, the safety and health plan, and guidelines, our team also developed a training for the cast and crew to empower them with the information needed to stay safe during filming.

Filming was successfully completed with no injuries or incidents among the filming cast and crew.