Morning Ag Clips logo
  • Subscribe ❯
  • PORTAL ❯
  • LOGIN ❯
  • By Keyword
  • By topic
  • By state
  • Home
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Store
  • Advertise
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Subscribe to our
    daily email
    ❯
  • Portal Registration❯
  • Login❯
  • policy
  • tractors & machinery
  • education
  • conservation
  • webinars
  • business
  • dairy
  • cattle
  • poultry
  • swine
  • corn
  • soybeans
  • organic
  • specialty crops
  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

Morning Ag Clips

  • By Keyword
  • By topic
  • By state
  • policy
  • tractors & machinery
  • education
  • conservation
  • webinars
  • business
  • dairy
  • cattle
  • poultry
  • swine
  • corn
  • soybeans
  • organic
  • specialty crops
  • Home
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Store
  • Advertise
Home » It takes a community to keep bees
THE BUZZ ... Comments

It takes a community to keep bees

Apiaries modeled after community gardens are becoming more common

PUBLISHED ON April 18, 2017

Community beekeeping operations are usually comprised of shared sites on public or private properties, organized by or for people trying to turn out fresh plants or products. (Jordan Schwartz, Flickr/Creative Commons)

LITTLETON, Colo. — Finding places for beekeeping can be a challenge for city dwellers. But apiaries modeled after community gardens have become a popular option.

Community beekeeping operations are usually comprised of shared sites on public or private properties, organized by or for people trying to turn out fresh plants or products.

Some, like the community apiary inside The Hudson Gardens & Event Center in Littleton, Colorado, also educate. Its objectives are to train, mentor and provide fellowship for hobbyist beekeepers, promote interest in beekeeping, and boost plant pollination in Hudson Gardens and around the neighborhood, said Amanda Accamando, the center’s education and volunteer manager.

The apiary “brings together a dynamic and unique community of beekeepers that not only share the common goal of supporting honeybee health but also greatly value learning from one another” and spreading the word, Accamando said.

No fees are charged for the program since the beekeepers also do volunteer work. But they must provide their own equipment, protective gear and honeybees. Hudson Gardens delivers the infrastructure, funding, staffing and administrative help.

“That allows our participants to focus on the health of their colonies, and their own development as beekeepers, mentors and educators,” Accamando said.

The program has been growing steadily and she expects to have more applicants than hive spaces available by next year. “We are actively seeking additional ways in which we can engage with beekeepers in our area beyond the apiary’s physical borders,” Accamando said.

Bee stings and liability are obvious concerns, and the public garden’s hobbyist beekeepers are required to follow city codes. Hives must be placed at least 25 feet from property lines, and bee flyways are directed away from private dwellings. No visitors are allowed to approach the hives without a beekeeper escort, and each guest must sign a waiver before entering the apiary.

Burgh Bees in Pittsburgh established the first urban community apiary in the United States.

“We realized more and more people in the city were interested in beekeeping,” said Stephen Repasky, a master beekeeper and Burgh Bee president. “We wanted to help find places for them to do that so we adopted the community garden example.”

The beekeepers eventually found a vacant piece of land and signed a lease with the city for $1 a year to landscape and manage it.

“We went from having a gravel lot full of used needles and garbage to a fenced property with perennials and pollinators,” Repasky said. “It’s going so well that we hope to open a second apiary sometime this summer.”

The City of Pittsburgh continues to look for new ways to utilize its vacant lots, Repasky said.

“Everyone gets a boost when the city is able to find people who can organize and transform those sites,” he said. “It adds value to property you can’t put a price on.”

___

Online:

For more about urban beekeeping, see this Los Angeles County Beekeepers Assn. fact sheet:www.losangelescountybeekeepers.com/becoming-an-urban-beekeeper/

You can contact Dean Fosdick at deanfosdick@netscape.net

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For more articles concerning bees, click here.

Click Here to find out more about your favorite topics

pollinators rural life

Spread the word

Browse More Clips

Interest in hemp products is growing

Cover crops help address climate change

Primary Sidebar

MORE

NATIONAL CLIPS

Farmer sentiment remains weak, crop producers contemplating acreage shifts in 2023
July 5, 2022
2022 North American Manure Expo
July 5, 2022
National Association of Wheat Growers’ 2023 Farm Bill priorities
July 5, 2022
Apply now for the 2022-23 ASA Corteva Agriscience Young Leader Program
July 5, 2022
Ukraine: FAO scales up efforts to save upcoming harvest
July 5, 2022
  • Trending
  • Latest

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

The Iowa Honey Producers Association will hold its summer field day at the Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station June 15.(Courtesy of ISU Extension and Outreach)
Honey Processing Regulations For Both Small & Commercial Operations
July 5, 2022
Summit on Agricultural Growth to be held August 18 in Manhattan
July 5, 2022
Texas Agriculture Commissioner opens AgriStress Helpline to the citizens of Uvalde
July 3, 2022
NDSU Central Grasslands Research Extension Center field day set
June 30, 2022
AFT: Americans are paving over agricultural land at a rapid pace
June 30, 2022

Footer

MORNING AG CLIPS

  • Sponsors
  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Customer & Technical Support

CONNECT WITH US

  • Like Us on Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

TRACK YOUR TRADE

  • Markets & Economy
  • Cattle Updates
  • Dairy News
  • Policy & Politics
  • Corn Alerts

QUICK LINKS

  • Account
  • Portal Membership
  • Invite Your Friends
  • Subscribe to RSS
  • WeatherTrends
  • Just Me, Kate

© 2022 Morning Ag Clips, LLC. All Rights Reserved.