NARROWSBURG, NY — The Narrowsburg Honey Bee Festival began five years ago to spread awareness about the declining pollinator population. Joan Santo, Martin Higgins and Charles Wilkin, the organizers of the event, soon discovered Matthew Willey with his Good of the Hive Initiative on Instagram.

The initiative is Willey’s personal commitment to hand-paint 50,000 honeybees—the number necessary for a healthy hive—in murals around the world. With his art activism, Willey promotes education, awareness and curiosity about the importance of honeybees and other pollinators.

The proposed mural will be painted on the post office wall facing the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance. To donate to the project, visit

www.bit.ly/TRRhoneybeemural or mail a check to PO Box 432, Narrowsburg, NY, 12764 made payable to the Narrowsburg Honeybee Festival. The project was recently approved for the Sullivan County Division of Planning and Community Development’s Plans and Progress Grant, and funds for the project surpassed $3,500 of its $12,500 goal.

Organizers of the festival hope to have full payment for Willey by mid-May, so the mural can be completed before or during the festival. This year, the Narrowsburg Honeybee Festival will occur on Main Street on September 28.