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Beekeeping

Bees and humans have been coexisting for thousands of years. The first known beekeepers were the ancient Egyptians who harvested honey and even used it as an offering to the gods. Since the first beekeepers (fondly known as ‘beeks’ in the bee community), humans and bees have been happily coexisting. Honeybees primarily offer us honey and pollination, the modern beekeeper helps to support honeybee populations by offering a safe habitat, treating for pathogens, and generally managing populations. In the America’s, and much of Europe, honeybees were imported with colonization to pollinate crops and have coevolved with humans as a domesticated species ever since; this means that honeybees largely don’t exist as a wild species and need human intervention to survive.

Keeping Bees: Welcome
Keeping Bees: Image

Honeybee Keeping

Starting your own apiary can be done in all types of settings- both rural and urban. But no matter where you’re starting your own hives, honey beekeeping is a big commitment and requires some serious studying to learn about honey bees, the practice of beekeeping and how to help them thrive. 


If you’re interested in starting your own apiary- either in your yard, on your rooftop, or anywhere in between; here are some steps to get you started on your beekeeping journey. 

  1. Contact people around you who have bees or experience with beekeeping

  2. Join your local beekeeping club 

  3. Read, read, read! (and take a beekeeping course). Bees and beekeeping are complicated and a healthy hives require a lot of preparation. Some great online courses are offered online like this one from Penn State University or this one from the Cornell University Small Farms program. 

  4. Make a plan! Starting an apiary can be expensive- creating a budget should be done before you start. Look into your local bylaws and submit a permit if necessary. Make a calendar detailing your 12-month plan. 

  5. Order your bees! The best time to do this is early spring (depending on your location) 

  6. Build your hives. 

  7. Enjoy your sweet, new little friends!

Keeping Bees: About My Project
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Building Pollinator Hotel

Starting a honeybee apiary can be a big commitment- both time-wise and financially, but engaging with bees, and housing them, doesn’t have to be! Most wild pollinators are actually solitary insects. Wild bees, such as mason bees, require small safe spaces to lay their eggs and store their food, humans can help out by providing them with safe habitat. 


Building a bee hotel to house solitary bees is a great way to help bee populations, and can be very simple and budget-friendly (and a fun thing to do with kids!). 

Tonnes of resources exist online to build or buy a mason bee hotel. Check out the video below for a step by step on how to build a cute and simple pollinator hotel. 

Keeping Bees: Body
Keeping Bees: Gallery
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