Urban Beekeeping has become a bit of a "buzz" word. It seems that every time Urban Beekeeping is mentioned, a beekeeper, journalist or environmentalist carries on as if it is the most significant discovery of human history. And you can forgive them for believing so; it is pretty amazing when we start to investigate it and learn how it helps our local environment. But is it as amazing as what people think it is? Is it something that anyone can pick up and start tomorrow? Is it helping our environment as much as we believe?
Let's think about it. First and foremost, this is not a negative critique of the Urban Beekeeping trend. We fully support it and believe that people should know all the facts. That is why we, as a company, exist, to promote Urban Beekeeping. Unfortunately, there are some out there who publish incorrect facts both for and against it that are not true.
For example, some would have you believe that Urban Beekeeping is the best environmental move you can make. And to be honest, that is not always the case. For example, potential sites are investigated for a new hive, and careful consideration is given to the local environment that is already there beforehand. Many other insects and creatures live in the area, and we have to remember that in Australia, the Honey Bee is not a native. That means that they compete with other local native fauna such as the Australian Native Bees, Moths, Butterflies and Flies. These insects also rely on the pollen and nectar produced by plants for their food source. If we are not careful, we could introduce a new competitor into an already highly competitive environment. Typically the result is Honey Bees push most of the other creatures out of the area.
Does that mean that we should give up on Urban Beekeeping?
Absolutely not! We encourage people to ask an experienced beekeeper who knows the area for advice. Their insight will be invaluable to you.
The Blue Banded Bee (Amegilla cingulata) is an Australian Native Bee. If care is not taken, Honey Bees can compete for resources, putting native bees at risk.
If you don't know a local Beekeeper, feel free to contact us. We specialise in Beekeeping in the urban environment and will be more than happy to help you get started. At Urban Bee Project Australia, we want to increase the number of Honey bees in the urban environment for the obvious environmental benefits, but not at the expense of the native fauna. We strive to ensure that homes are provided for the native bees and ensure that our hives are not located in an area where there is food scarcity. That is why we prefer the suburbs rather than the CBD for our Hives, where there is more garden space, plants and water sources.
Is Beekeeping as amazing as what everyone thinks it is? Well, yes. But we should not be naive about it, and we must be careful not to place undue stress on the environment and thus threaten the native fauna population.
That brings us to our next point.
Is Urban Beekeeping something anyone can pick up?
Well, yes, but also no.
To illustrate what we mean, we are going to use ABC's Great Australian Bee Challenge as an example.
The show sets up the challenge to test whether Urban Beekeeping or Traditional Country Beekeeping would produce the best honey. The experiment was conducted using four teams that were entirely new to Beekeeping and followed their journey as they learnt about their hives. By and large, the test was incredibly informative and helped educate many about how bees behave. But on reflection, keen Beekeepers would notice that the contestants found themselves in precarious circumstances. Without the help they received from an experienced Beekeeper, the results could have been catastrophic.
Out of the four teams, three encountered situations that with inexperience could have lead to abscondment, or worse yet, colony collapse. One Team struggled to get their hive up in strength partly because one of the team members could not resist the temptation of inspecting the hive a bit too regularly. As a result, the colony would periodically be disturbed by an inexperienced over-enthusiastic beekeeper, and they would lose numbers each time. Had the experienced Beekeeper not intervened and stopped him, the hive may very well not have survived.
Another team struggled to get their bees settled into their new Urban home. It turns out that there was not as much food in the area as they had previously thought and the bees were slowly staving. Again, had the experienced Beekeeper not intervened, there would have been a colony collapse.
The third team, located on beautiful Australian native bushland, struggled to help ensure the bees had enough food. It turns out, the native forest was late to bloom, and as such there were no flowers for the bees to forage. Again, the slow development of the colony and the inexperience of the new Beekeeper easily could have led to a disastrous result.
ABC’s Great Australian Bee Challenge is great introduction to Beekeeping. Go check it out is you haven’t already.
Even the fouth team who arguably had the best results had their fair share of problems but thankfully nothing too distressing. If the experiment had not engaged with very experienced Beekeepers, it would have had very different results. One thing that the show did effectively communicate was that hives don't always produce enough honey to be harvested.
If people jump into Beekeeping because they read a few articles on the internet, or watched a Youtube video without the help of an experienced Beekeeper, the results can be disastrous.
Additionally, many who start Beekeeping are not aware of the regulatory requirements around keeping bees. Depending on where you live, some councils require a permit, and most state governments require registration to keep honeybees. There are also strict record-keeping and testing requirements to maintain biosecurity. It takes time and energy to maintain and comply with these regulations. And it doesn't matter if you have one hive or a few thousand, you still have to abide by these regulations.
It means that when you come home from your day job, your evening can be occupied by paperwork. Once a year, you have to send samples for tests to ensure security and to protect against disease.
But we don't write these blogs to deter people from Beekeeping. We want people to welcome bees into their backyards. But if people can't ensure the time commitment and learning curve, then they should engage a Beekeeper. If you work with us, we will take care of all the legalities and paperwork, teach you about the hives and even share the honey with you. As a bonus you can relax, knowing that the bees are being cared for by experienced Beekeepers.
What about our final point. Is Urban Keeping that great for the environment?
The honest answer is yes, but not in the way you may be thinking. Yes, bees help pollinate our plants, leading to better food production and improved biodiversity. Yes, they help provide food to our native birds. And yes, they serve as a Bio-security alarm, warning us of the infiltration of threats to our wildlife and food security.
Here is a thought we bet did not cross your mind. When you buy Urban Honey from a Bee Hive near you, you are buying local.
"Yay, awesome!"
But why is that so good?
We often think about good food coming from picturesque farms in the countryside, grown by flannel-wearing farmers with their dog by their side as they walk the farm. The new harvest and fresh food delivered to your local supermarket or grocery store. Many enthusiastic people will even get up early on weekends, drive out to the country and go to farmers markets to get the best produce. Nothing more environmentally friendly than that right? Wrong.
It's terrible for the environment. What many don't realise is that our food travels enormous distances to get to us. That means, the further away your foods growing area is, the higher the carbon footprint it produces. And if you think driving out to get it yourself is going to improve that, we have bad news for you. Personal vehicles have a higher carbon footprint per food weight transported than trucks do. So you are better off buying your produce from the supermarkets and using your car less.
Farmers markets are great. But they are not necessarily better for the environment. The closer our food is produced to were we live, the better. Buying honey from a local Beekeeper is always going to be better.
And that is where Urban Honey comes is. When you buy honey from a local Urban Beekeeper rather than from a far off producer, you are significantly reducing the carbon footprint produced in getting that honey. Most times, you may even be able to walk to where the honey is sold.
You may be thinking, "Honey from the country is much better tasting, and the bees are out in nature. That's got to be more environmentally friendly than Urban Honey, right?" You would be forgiven for thinking that.
Most farms only grow one or two crops. It is called "monoculture". Recent studies have found that monoculture, which is especially prevalent amongst permanent crops, leads to pest issues, the spread of disease and ecosystem failure. On top of that, it means beekeepers have to move bees around often to ensure bees get enough food. It is not great for carbon release, nor is it healthy for the bees.
Bees need a variety of food. Taking them to areas where there is only one type of food for them to access is like a person trying to survive on eating nothing but potatoes for two weeks. Then tomatoes for two weeks. It's not healthy for us, and it's not healthy for bees.
Urban Bee Hives give bees the best variety of food they can get. Something the countryside can not provide. And, they help to reduce the carbon footprint of food.
So when you buy honey from a local Urban Bee Hive, you help the environment in all the ways we mentioned and reduce your carbon footprint. When you buy from Urban Bee Project Australia, you also help us continue the work we do in caring for and promoting Urban Bee Keeping. So Bee sure to support us.
So Urban Bee Keeping is great, but care must be taken when starting a new. Always work with the help of an experienced Beekeeper and follow all legal regulations. And don't undertake it if you are honestly not up to it. Urban Beekeeping is a fulfilling experience and a great way to help the environment. Urban Bee Project Australia is here to help you get the most out of it so always feel free to contact us.
Remember to tell your friends about us and to get them following us of Facebook and Instagram. You'll find great bee facts and puns every week and other surprises too.
Until our next blog, make friends with a bee. Maybe go for fish and chips with her. Everyone likes fish and chips.