Morgan Freeman and his bee sanctuary have social media buzzing

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman is once again earning rave reviews, but this time it has nothing to do with his on-screen performance.

The Shawshank Redemption actor is being lauded on social media for his decision several years ago to turn his 124-acre ranch in Mississippi into a bee sanctuary, for environmental reasons. Freeman spoke about the change during a 2014 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and his comments are recirculating now.

“There’s a concerted effort to bring bees back onto the planet. We do not realize that they are the foundation, I think, of the growth of the planet, the vegetation,” Freeman said.

The Driving Miss Daisy star, 81, explained that he had brought in 26 beehives from Arkansas and planted species the bees would like, such as lavender and magnolia trees. Freeman said he fed the bees sugar and water and, although he’d never worn a special suit or hat to protect himself from the bees, he’d never been stung.

“They haven’t [stung me] yet, because right now I’m not trying to harvest honey or anything,” Freeman said at the time. “I’m just feeding them… I think they understand, ‘Hey, don’t bother this guy, he’s got sugar water here.'”

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