ColumnIn the face of colony collapse disorder, can urban beekeeping projects help us save bees, and our food system?

Did you know that 70 out of the top 100 food crops that humans consume — which are responsible for supplying about 90 percent of the world’s nutrition — are pollinated by bees? As Greenpeace puts it, “You have a bee to thank for every one in three bites of food you eat.” This is one of the main reasons that people are so concerned about the dwindling numbers of honeybees.

Bee populations are decreasing at an alarmingly high rate. Because of pesticides and habitat loss, in the United States alone, since 1962, the number of bees per hectare has gone down by 90 percent for these important crops.

The question is: what do we do? Banning dangerous pesticides is an essential part of the solution, but beyond signing petitions, for the most of us, that’s something that’s out of our control. What is in our control? Many people have taken to beekeeping.

Nowadays, there are urban beekeeping projects popping up from Hong Kong to Stockholm to Tokyo. And it’s not just bees that they are promoting; often these projects incorporate unique methods of doing business that bring both a social and environmental good. For example, in Seattle, the Urban Bee Co. is the nation’s first bicycle-centered honey producer, and all its honey deliveries are pedal-powered. Not to mention that honey is an incredibly local crop, and for people looking to reduce their food miles, honey is a way to do just that.

It has been argued that urban beekeeping is actually detrimental to bee populations, as in many areas, there has been a loss of flowers and habitat. This is often on account of urbanization, which removes both potential nesting sites for bees, as well as their food sources, making pairing beekeeping projects with planting projects essential. And that means greening cities, providing bees with what they lack: food. A great example is Pollinator Passasjen, a Norwegian initiative to encourage people to plant bee-friendly plants, like flowers, as well as insect hotels.

Unfortunately, the reality is that if bees keep dying at the current rate, urban hives come far under being a replacement for the commercial variety. But that doesn’t mean we should forget about urban beekeeping projects. On the contrary, while they may make a small impact on the larger agricultural scale, on the smaller, more local scale there’s a lot of potential, because while it may seem like bees would prefer a more rural, bucolic setting for their pollinating action, research has actually shown not only higher survival rates in urban bees versus rural bees, but also high yields of honey.

The success of bees in urban areas does point to the fact that in these areas, in conjunction with more green roofs and urban gardens, beekeeping projects might just be an essential part of the solution for addressing food security, by helping to increase local food production.

But when we are thinking about solutions to a more sustainable world of food production, it also comes down to one essential thing: dealing with toxic pesticides that are causing these problems in the first place. This has been highlighted yet again by a recent Harvard Study which concluded that, “The results from this study not only replicate findings from the previous study, but also reinforce the conclusion that the sublethal exposure to neonicotinoids is likely the main culprit for the occurrence of CCD.”

The most heavily used class of insecticides in the U.S., those neonicotinoids aren’t just impacting bee health, many scientists say that they post a threat to human health as well. Designed to target an insect’s nervous system, these pesticides have now been shown that they may have an affect on the human nervous system as well, affecting brain development. That’s alarming given the trace amounts of the pesticides that have been shown to appear in food. In one study done on neonicotinoids in food, 90 percent of honey samples tested detected positive for at least one neonicotinoid, as well as 72 percent of fruits and 45 percent of vegetables.

More research is needed, but paired with the destruction of bee populations, the argument against these pesticides is strong.

So what do we do?

We continue to advocate for more sustainable farming practices. We buy organic. We buy local. We boycott Big Ag. We don’t use pesticides in our own gardens. We support more urban beekeeping projects as well as initiatives that build more habitat and food for bees. We plant more native species. Urban hives may not solve the problem of colony collapse disorder, but it does get more people talking about it, and part of the solution — whatever the problem — comes with creating awareness. And if we want to build a more sustainable food system, we have to do exactly that.

Related on EcoSalon

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Maryland Law Seeks to Protect Honey Bees from Neonicotinoid Pesticides

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Mosaic Family

The post Can Urban Beekeeping Projects Save Our Food System? Foodie Underground appeared first on EcoSalon.

 We love bees.

Two years ago we told you how vandals had attacked bee hives at Hayes Valley Farm, San Francisco, resulting in the loss of over 60% of the resident bees. We’ve just heard it’s happened again, as part of a sustained campaign of vandalism over the last 2 weeks. If you want to show them a little support, you can reach them at the Facebook page for their nonprofit organization, SF Bee-Cause.

(Let’s hope they get a camera soon and catch these wretches before they do even more damage).

Bees, it barely needs to be said, are vital elements of the food cycle that keep us alive. Was Albert Einstein exaggerating when he said the end of bees would mean humanity had 4 years left before its own extinction? Let’s hope we never find out. In celebration of this incredible, species-saving creature, here are our best bee-related posts of the last 2 years, from beautifying honey therapy to the Chim Chimney backyard bee-keeping movement sweeping through London…

Check your local ordinances and if backyard beekeeping is legal in your area, determine where you’d put your hives. A sunny spot that’s not directly situated next to a recreational area like a picnic table or playground is ideal. It’s best to plant a hedge or put up some kind of barrier around your bee colonies to prevent vandalism, protect the hive from wind and induce the bees to fly upward when leaving the hive (rather than through your neighbor’s yard.) Speaking of neighbors, you’ll need to talk to them about your plans. As long as none of them are allergic to bees, a little bribery with some honey should put them at ease.

The Buzz On Backyard Beekeeping For Beginners

In the last two years, California’s crops were affected by a mysterious disappearance of bee hives. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, the worker bees simply fly away and never return. Since October 2006, over 35% of the honey bee population in the United States has vanished. In some states, as many as 90% of bees have disappeared. Scientists don’t know what causes CCD, but theories range from stress due to travel (bees are trucked across thousands of miles, in some cases, to pollinate), or pesticide exposure. A case for local, organic food?

Mysterious Mass Deaths Redux

Recent history: Bees are dying all over the place, “colony collapse disorder” enters the national consciousness, a leaked EPA memo points to a particular pesticide, Army researchers enter the fray. In the midst of all of this news, just as it seems scientists might be closer to identifying the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, a new mysterious bee die-off is happening – right now – in San Francisco.

I discovered this entirely by chance when I met a fellow cookbook author named Penni Wisner at a professional gathering. The day we met, she had just learned that the beehive in her Lower Castro San Francisco backyard had collapsed, practically overnight.  As she told the story of how the process unfolded, everyone in the room was swept away by the heartbreaking mystery of the hive’s demise.

Exclusive: EPA Ignores Its Own Science And Approves Bee-Killing Pesticide: Mysterious New Die-Off Unfolds

Brightly colored clothing might be fun for summer, but certain hues can bring bees buzzing. If you’re worried about yellow jackets don’t wear bright yellow, orange, florescent red or light blue.

How To ‘B’ At One With Backyard Bees

Conventional beekeepers place sheets made of plastic or wax in their hives for their honeybees to build upon, but the problem is, bees aren’t too fond of plastic and the wax is contaminated by chemicals and pesticides. The hexagonal cell pattern on the sheets is often too large, encouraging the growth of oversized bees that may gather more pollen and make more honey, but are also more susceptible to mites and thus require chemical treatment.

The Backwards Beekeepers – made up of Kirk Anderson, Charles Martin Simon and Michael Bush – believe that this just plain unnatural system is adding unnecessary stress to bee populations. Their own system relies on wood strips painted with chemical-free beeswax taken from their own previous harvests.

Backwards Beekeeping: Natural Care Of Feral Bees

It really started at age five when my grandmother slathered honey on my morning waffle. I distinctly remember my senses awakening. The scent of the honey mixed with the melting butter on the crisp waffle and then the flavor exploding in my mouth. I was hooked at that moment and somehow knew that bees would play an important role in my life. However, it wasn’t until about five years ago when a colony of bees built their home in my garden wall. When I learned that my landlord was set to exterminate them because he was told they were “killer bees,” I called a local beekeeper to help me move them from the garden wall to my newly purchased house. Many exterminators use the term “killer bees” as a scare tactic.

Q & A with Los Angeles beekeeper, Staci Valentine

According to the British Beekeepers Association, the number of registered Chim Chimney Beekeepers in central London has more than doubled within the past couple of years. There are over 2,500 hives and more than 700 beekeepers. The posh are in on it (the queen’s bees are kept at Buckingham Palace) as well as the middle class, who keep bees in allotments and on rooftops. The enthusiasm for London beekeeping and the resulting honey (considered to be among the best in the world) has prompted annual festivals, international beehive design competitions,eco products, and amendments to the school curriculum.

The Chim Chimney swarm has become so avid that last year the North London Beekeepers Association had to start turning away members. The Guardian calls it the latest environmental movement; we’re calling it the new chicken coop.

Chim Chimney Beekeeping: The New Homesteading

Want a centuries-old beauty trick? Tie on your sunbonnets and lean in. (Yes, now I am whispering.) Honey is the secret to everything. Okay, maybe not everything, but it comes pretty darn close. It’s the multi-tasker of natural beauty. Cleopatra made milk and honey baths infamous. Poppea, wife of Rome’s Emperor Nero, used milk and honey to maintain a youthful appearance. And best of all? It is everywhere and it is relatively cheap.

5 Reasons Why Honey Is The Ultimate Beauty Must-Have

Among its clearly outlined beliefs and commitments, Burt’s Bees believes that natural products should be 100 percent natural. Together with the Natural Products Association and other leading Natural Personal Care Companies, Burt’s pioneered The Natural Standard for Personal Care Products, a set of guidelines that helps to define what a “natural” personal care product is and what it is not. Products that fill the bill are branded with a Natural Seal, which indicates that the product has met guidelines related to natural ingredients, safety, animal testing, and packaging. While only half of Burt’s Bees’ existing products qualify as 100 percent natural, the company is open about working toward complicity across the entire product line, and each product’s “percent natural” is clearly indicated on its packaging.

Burt’s Bees also works to ensure safe working conditions in the sourcing of its ingredients, maintain a strong stand against animal testing, and use packaging made with high levels of post consumer recycled materials. The company also pledges at least 10 percent of all burtsbees.com sales revenue to partners through The Burt’s Bees Greater Good Foundation.

Behind The Label: Burt’s Bees

Images: Don Hankins, aussiegal, gregav, hr.icio, Mike Baird, Staci Valentine, vickyb, and alsjhc.

The post From The Vault: Let It Bee appeared first on EcoSalon.

On competitive swimming, chickens and honeybees.

Swimmer Natalie Coughlin, 29, was the most decorated female athlete at both the 2004 Athens and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In Beijing, she became the first U.S. woman to medal six times during a single Games, giving her a lifetime total of 11. She hopes to add to that number this summer at the 30th Olympiad in London.

Besides swimming, Coughlin’s passions include food, gardening, and the five chickens she keeps in her backyard in Lafayette, California.

Avital Andrews from Sierra magazine interviewed Natalie to find out more about her gold-medal habits.

SIERRA: What do you mean when you call yourself an “urban farmer”?

Natalie: I grow a lot of my own food and have replaced a lot of our landscaping with edibles. We have 10 citrus trees, seven seasonal vegetable beds, and five chickens for eggs. We’re considering honeybees next. For a while we were thinking about goats but realized that would have been ridiculous and too much to handle between our two dogs and five chickens and my travel schedule.

SIERRA: When will you decide about the bees?

Natalie: I’ll probably wait until after the Olympics and then dive into that project. Right now we have several mason bee houses, to give them a refuge and encourage them to come pollinate all our fruits and vegetables. I definitely notice a difference this summer, versus the previous summer — a lot more of our flowers are turning into fruit.

SIERRA: How did you pick up gardening as a hobby?  

Natalie: When I was a kid, I had a 90-year-old neighbor — she could stick anything in the ground and it would grow and flourish. We’d always play in her garden. I still have the colander that she used to make potpourri from her roses. A lot of people in my life have had backyard gardens so when I was looking to buy a home, that was one of the requirements. I think it was just a desire to learn more about the seasons and about where food comes from.

The post Natalie Coughlin: An Olympic Swimmer and Urban Farmer appeared first on EcoSalon.

It seems more and more people are doing just that, and even in urban areas. Let’s take a look at some growing trends.

Fruit/veggie/herb gardens

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People are really digging into the idea of growing their own produce. Why settle for a boring lawn or shrubbery when you can walk a few steps to your backyard into an edible forest of fresh onions, chard, spinach, lettuce and squash? As one recent article in the Denver Post put it, “soil is the new oil,” and last year seed sales seriously sprouted, according to USA Today. Because let’s face it – with the growing uncertainty of our times with tech, financial, and housing bubbles crashing left and right, oil prices rising and the value of the dollar falling, self-sufficiency is sounding better and better.

And yet, why only rely on your own garden? In an interesting interview with Carol Deppe about her new book The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times, Carol mentions humans’ need to be both self-reliant and interdependent. By sharing ideas and tools, we all become more self-reliant and better survivors. It is in just this way that urban citizens are joining together to trade excess fruit and vegetables from each other’s yards. Numerous trading hubs are popping up in the Bay Area, for one. Check out VeggieTrader, a “classifieds” website for easy produce trading!

Thinking about starting your own garden? For inspiration, consider these 10 Easiest Vegetables to Grow at Home or perhaps start small with an herb garden.

Worms

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As people become more experienced in the ways of gardening, it’s natural to take it to the next level. In fact, rumor has it that “vericomposting,” aka. worm composting to create your own rich compost or “black gold” is becoming a popular new trend. Earthworms are our friends. They break down the soil, helping it breath and stay loose so plants’ roots can better grow.

I was dually impressed by a friend’s earthworm “collection” when I was visiting out in Colorado. Healthy soil translates into healthy plants – no doubt – as said friend proved with an incredible tomato and squash garden. My favorite was hearing Will Allen, an urban farming genius from Milwaukee, speak at a PopTech conference in Maine. His slide show included images of worm composting that were mind-blowing. Yes, even worms can knock your socks off. Or maybe it was the resulting “black gold” that I really wanted to sink my hands into.

Bees

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Beekeeping has been gaining popularity, most surprisingly in urban areas. In March of this year, New York lifted a ban on beekeeping and the city of Toronto boasts an impressive urban rooftop beehive haven atop the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. The hotel then provides its very own fresh honey harvested from its roof to satisfy restaurant diners. Genius!

Urbanites, such as Cameo Wood in the Bay Area, have turned keeping hives into a profit, selling fresh local honey to the community at Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper. Occasionally, beekeeping can cause conflict in city neighborhoods, as when a small urban farm in San Francisco had their beehives attacked.

Many beekeepers are simply gardeners who want bees to pollinate their flowers and vegetables. Worried about bee population declines, they’ve decided to take nature into their own hands. For more buzz on backyard beekeeping for beginners read on here.

Chickens

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There has been a lot of backyard chicken talk over the years. It seems in certain circles, chickens are all the rage. Sadly, my neighbors recently decided to end their urban chicken care-taking, so I no longer sip my morning coffee to the sound of the birds murmuring and ruffling their feathers. While most homeowners would consider the maintenance required for keeping chickens more work than its worth, those who have them beg to differ. For example, chickens can be fed just about any old scrap from the kitchen table, and in fact, the more variety in their diet, the more nutritious the eggs they lay.

Nobody seems to have exact numbers, but Backyard Poultry, a Wisconsin based magazine, boasts upward of 80,000 current subscribers (up from 15,000 four years prior) and numerous chicken websites are gaining surprising traffic, such as backyardchickens.com and urbanchickens.org.

Let’s face it, nobody refutes the superiority of a fresh egg to the alternative, and considering that recently Wright County Egg, an Iowa company, had to recall 380 million eggs in August for salmonella issues, keeping your own chickens just might be worth looking into.

Given the level of interest, I’m surprised that we haven’t seen any urban Chicken Coop Co-ops sprouting up. Seems like a perfect way to share in the labor and the egg-bounty. Any community organizers out there up for the challenge?

Aquaculture

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Why stop at chickens? Considering the sad state of our oceans and declining and poisoned fish populations, it makes sense to take a shot at farming your own fish. Sound fishy? Not to Will Allen (if I might reference the genius one last time) who has barrels of tilapia and perch at his Growing Power green houses, making aquaponics look easy. But could you do it at home? Apparently, fish farming in the backyard is a indeed a growing trend, although, I have yet to hear of anyone I know delving this deep. Let us know if you have encountered any local, urban (or suburban) fishmongers!

Be it a few herbs on the back deck, chickens or a full-fledged aquaponic system, may you too find the optimal self-sufficient gardening option for your very own backyard.

Images: Sbocaj, Salvadonica, Chianti, Tuscany, PopTech, fishermansdaughter, Svadilfari, grifray

The post 5 Urban Farming Ideas for Your Own Backyard appeared first on EcoSalon.

Growing your own food has gone beyond the hippie counter-culture of the ’60s. With the advent of books by the likes of Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver, people are taking a hard look at what they’re eating. Sadly (and not always surprisingly), the more we learn, the less we want to eat commercial, processed, packaged food or even fruits, vegetables or meat from big corporate aggie farms. What better way to take control and eat locally by producing food in your very own backyard?

It seems more and more people are doing just that, and even in urban areas. Let’s take a look at some growing trends.

Fruit/veggie/herb gardens

People are really digging into the idea of growing their own produce. Why settle for a boring lawn or shrubbery when you can walk a few steps to your backyard into an edible forest of fresh onions, chard, spinach, lettuce and squash? As one recent article in the Denver Post put it, “soil is the new oil,” and last year seed sales seriously sprouted, according to USA Today. Because let’s face it – with the growing uncertainty of our times with tech, financial, and housing bubbles crashing left and right, oil prices rising and the value of the dollar falling, self-sufficiency is sounding better and better.

And yet, why only rely on your own garden? In an interesting interview with Carol Deppe about her new book The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times, Carol mentions humans’ need to be both self-reliant and interdependent. By sharing ideas and tools, we all become more self-reliant and better survivors. It is in just this way that urban citizens are joining together to trade excess fruit and vegetables from each other’s yards. Numerous trading hubs are popping up in the Bay Area, for one. Check out VeggieTrader, a “classifieds” website for easy produce trading!

Thinking about starting your own garden? For inspiration, consider these 10 Easiest Vegetables to Grow at Home or perhaps start small with an herb garden.

Worms

As people become more experienced in the ways of gardening, it’s natural to take it to the next level. In fact, rumor has it that “vericomposting,” aka. worm composting to create your own rich compost or “black gold” is becoming a popular new trend. Earthworms are our friends. They break down the soil, helping it breath and stay loose so plants’ roots can better grow.

I was dually impressed by a friend’s earthworm “collection” when I was visiting out in Colorado. Healthy soil translates into healthy plants – no doubt – as said friend proved with an incredible tomato and squash garden. My favorite was hearing Will Allen, an urban farming genius from Milwaukee, speak at a PopTech conference in Maine. His slide show included images of worm composting that were mind-blowing. Yes, even worms can knock your socks off. Or maybe it was the resulting “black gold” that I really wanted to sink my hands into.

Bees

Beekeeping has been gaining popularity, most surprisingly in urban areas. In March of this year, New York lifted a ban on beekeeping and the city of Toronto boasts an impressive urban rooftop beehive haven atop the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. The hotel then provides its very own fresh honey harvested from its roof to satisfy restaurant diners. Genius!

Urbanites, such as Cameo Wood in the Bay Area, have turned keeping hives into a profit, selling fresh local honey to the community at Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper. Occasionally, beekeeping can cause conflict in city neighborhoods, as when a small urban farm in San Francisco had their beehives attacked.

Many beekeepers are simply gardeners who want bees to pollinate their flowers and vegetables. Worried about bee population declines, they’ve decided to take nature into their own hands. For more buzz on backyard beekeeping for beginners read on here.

Chickens

There has been a lot of backyard chicken talk over the years. It seems in certain circles, chickens are all the rage. Sadly, my neighbors recently decided to end their urban chicken care-taking, so I no longer sip my morning coffee to the sound of the birds murmuring and ruffling their feathers. While most homeowners would consider the maintenance required for keeping chickens more work than its worth, those who have them beg to differ. For example, chickens can be fed just about any old scrap from the kitchen table, and in fact, the more variety in their diet, the more nutritious the eggs they lay.

Nobody seems to have exact numbers, but Backyard Poultry, a Wisconsin based magazine, boasts upward of 80,000 current subscribers (up from 15,000 four years prior) and numerous chicken websites are gaining surprising traffic, such as backyardchickens.com and urbanchickens.org.

Let’s face it, nobody refutes the superiority of a fresh egg to the alternative, and considering that recently Wright County Egg, an Iowa company, had to recall 380 million eggs in August for salmonella issues, keeping your own chickens just might be worth looking into.

Given the level of interest, I’m surprised that we haven’t seen any urban Chicken Coop Co-ops sprouting up. Seems like a perfect way to share in the labor and the egg-bounty. Any community organizers out there up for the challenge?

Aquaculture

Why stop at chickens? Considering the sad state of our oceans and declining and poisoned fish populations, it makes sense to take a shot at farming your own fish. Sound fishy? Not to Will Allen (if I might reference the genius one last time) who has barrels of tilapia and perch at his Growing Power green houses, making aquaponics look easy. But could you do it at home? Apparently, fish farming in the backyard is a indeed a growing trend, although, I have yet to hear of anyone I know delving this deep. Let us know if you have encountered any local, urban (or suburban) fishmongers!

Be it a few herbs on the back deck, chickens or a full-fledged aquaponic system, may you too find the optimal self-sufficient gardening option for your very own backyard.

Images: Sbocaj, Salvadonica, Chianti, Tuscany, PopTech, fishermansdaughter, Svadilfari, grifray

The post 5 Urban Farming Ideas for Your Own Backyard appeared first on EcoSalon.

Why would a person maliciously kill bees on an urban farm? The Hayes Valley Farm in San Francisco had its bee farm attacked last week. Someone deliberately sprayed pesticide into the vent holes of their honey bee colonies. The result? Over 60 percent of the bees in the colony were killed. More than the money lost, the emotional affect is difficult. The HVF is working hard to create a better urban community only to have a local resident turn on them. It seems there’s been some misunderstanding about bees.

Many farms are focused as much on education, as growing and selling produce. If anything good can come out of this, perhaps it can help raise awareness about the importance of bees in our environment. Bees are an essential part of the ecosystem, pollinating as much as one sixth of the flowering plants in the world and over 100 agricultural crops in the U.S.

Scientists have long noticed that bee populations have been dwindling. Numerous theories abound as to why that’s the case. Be it overuse of fertilizers and pesticides, air pollution from carbon dioxide or cell phone radiation, our bees have been affected. It seems that urban beekeeping has made a significant impact on increasing bee numbers. Let’s hope that urban punks won’t destroy these efforts.

Image: wolfpix

The post Not Cool! Bees at Hayes Valley Farm in San Francisco Attacked appeared first on EcoSalon.

Are the bees all right? Maybe, Maybe not. But possibly the trend of urban beekeeping can save them.

As colony collapse continues, sparking speculation that cell phone radiation may be one of the culprits, and a certain native bumblebee was recently formally petitioned to be protected under The Endangered Species Act, it looks as if our pollinators are in trouble.

This could be devastating for our food supply. Honeybees are used to pollinate commercial plantings of almonds, cucumbers, squash, melons, strawberries and many other crops. With colony collapse disorder continuing to be a problem, some farmers are using native bumblebees to pollinate greenhouse crops like tomatoes.

At the same time, beekeeping and honey sales are up in both the U.S. and Europe.

The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) said there are now more than 80,000 hives registered in Britain, compared to 40,000 in 2007.

Beekeeping is such a craze in Germany that beekeepers are stealing hives from one another.

And in the United States, beekeeping is a hot trend, that some forward-thinking cities like Dayton, OH, are beginning to work bees into planning and zoning regulations, even while the practice remains illegal in cities like New York.

Can small-scale beekeepers save our pollinators? It’s quite possible. One study found that urban bees are more productive than rural bees and are healthier because they are not exposed to the same levels of damaging pesticides as rural bees.

Perhaps you’re ready to go beyond living in harmony with the bees in your yard and graduate to raising your own colony.

Where do you start? I caught up with urban beekeeper Staci Valentine to get the goods on raising bees. Staci, a year into her adventure, is relatively new to the art of beekeeping herself, making her the ideal person to introduce beginners to beekeeping.

Staci is a chef, professional photographer, and urban farmer who lives in a house located just below the Hollywood sign. Her backyard is unusually large, hence, the farm. Staci can usually be found creating glorious dishes for her private chef business clients from the organic ingredients foraged on her urban farm, tending to her ever-growing number of beehives and photographing the wonders of life. She will soon launch her pop-up bakery in Los Angeles.

What was the spark that first got you into beekeeping?

It really started at age five when my grandmother slathered honey on my morning waffle. I distinctly remember my senses awakening. The scent of the honey mixed with the melting butter on the crisp waffle and then the flavor exploding in my mouth. I was hooked at that moment and somehow knew that bees would play an important role in my life. However, it wasn’t until about five years ago when a colony of bees built their home in my garden wall. When I learned that my landlord was set to exterminate them because he was told they were “˜killer bees’, I called a local beekeeper to help me move them from the garden wall to my newly purchased house. Many exterminators use the term “˜killer bees’ as a scare tactic.

How long have you been keeping bees?

It’s been a year now. I currently have four super busy hives and have empty hives waiting for when I get a call to pick up a swarm.

What is your favorite fact about bees?

Gosh, there are many but one that is not too well known is that the scent of bananas is similar to a bees alarm pheromone. So the scent could very well trigger them to sting. Needless to say, I don’t seem to be eating too many bananas these days.

Is it true that the girl bees do all the work? Do you think that applies to life as well?

It is indeed true that the girl bees do all of the work because the worker bees are all female. The hive consists of the queen, her workers, and drones (the male bees). The workers are the ones that make most things happen in and out of the hive. The key responsibility of the male is to wait in designated drone “˜meeting areas’ and mate with a virgin queen from a different hive. Once they mate, his privates are ripped from his abdomen and he plunges to his death. Not a fun fate.

I do believe that in many cases, the female makes everything run like clockwork in a home.

Have you been stung and have you ever panicked when the bees swarmed?

I have been stung but not since I’ve been keeping bees. I always wear my protective gear when working with them, which consists of a veil, gloves and white coveralls, which are tucked into gardening boots. I’ve never panicked when bees are swarming. This is when they are the most docile because they are looking for a new home. Once they settle at a location they send scout bees out to find a suitable new location. There is typically a short window before they find their new home and this is the time that I get calls to pick up a swarm.

I have heard the behavior of bee colonies be compared to “one mind” is this true in your experience?

I think bees function as an amazing cooperative and people should learn more from them. At various steps of their short lives, the workers graduate to different tasks in and out of the hive. There is no resentment, just a shared responsibility to create a thriving colony.

What is the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen bees do?

I was emptying a box of 40,000 bees into their new home. First, I placed a white sheet in the area I was working so that if the queen fell onto the ground, I could spot her and place her inside the hive. Once the queen is safely inside the hive, appointed worker bees will raise their little tushies in the air at the entrance to the hive and fan furiously. This releases their queen’s pheromones into the air and all of the bees belonging to the colony start marching into their new home. It’s an amazing sight to behold.

For people interested in keeping bees, what kind of time and monetary investment can they expect?

I say before even spending any money, observe another beekeeper to see if it is indeed something you’d like to do. You can then decide whether or not you want to purchase the protective gear, which I highly recommend. I’ve listed approximate prices.

When I first started I purchased the following:

Veil: I purchased a veil separate from the coveralls. They do make some veils that attach to the coverall.  This is all a matter of preference. ($30 – $75.00)

Thick fabric gloves $20.00

White coveralls: White is good because it’s reflective and it can get darn hot in the suit. $70.00

Smoker: (this is what you use to smoke the bees so they remain calm)

Hive tool: (to open the lid and separate hives/frames that are sticky with propolis) $6.00

Bee brush: $5.00

Hive boxes with tops, bottoms and frames: The price of these is all dependent on if you buy them unassembled or assembled and the size of the boxes. If you’re handy it’s definitely cheaper to buy unassembled. I like to paint my boxes (only the exterior never the interior) because this helps prevent them from weathering as quickly.

Once can also purchase bees, but I found the best way to get them is picking up a swarm. Swarms to be quite plentiful in the spring.

What is the most useful piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were first starting out?

When you are setting up the frames in your hives you either use frames that come with starter beeswax or you buy empty frames and make your own strips. The starter beeswax has its advantage because the bees have less to build before drawing out honeycomb.

The reason I decided to not go with the pre-made beeswax frames was because I could not verify that the beeswax was “˜clean’ i.e., did not have any chemicals in it.

And so I took a different approach. Someone had told me that all I needed to do was cut thin strips of cardboard or wood, glue them into the tops of the frames and the bees would start making their own comb on the cardboard or wood. What I later learned is that “˜painting’ the cardboard or wood strips really is what does it. I think my first bees left because they didn’t want to build honeycomb on raw cardboard. I’ve tried the “˜painted’ method now in several hives and it seems to have done the trick.

There is still so much in the news about colony collapse disorder, and recently, the story about cell phone radiation being a possible cause. Then there is the decline in native bee populations. It’s interesting considering the rising tide of individual, small-scale beekeepers. Do you think individual beekeepers can save our pollinators?

I think if enough people become interested in beekeeping it can make a difference. It’s about putting a voice to something and that is why education is so incredibly important. People like Michael Pollan and films like Food Inc. make an impact. I feel that much of the problem is because of all of the horrific fertilizers and pesticides that we are putting on our crops. Of course it’s hurting the bees – and it’s hurting us as well.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Images: Staci Valentine

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You’re relaxing in your backyard when you hear that ominous noise: the unmistakable buzz of a swarm of bees. The sight of a writhing mass of wild stinging insects is enough to turn almost anyone into a shrieking horror movie heroine, but whatever you do, don’t harm them! Natural care of feral bees could be a key to overcoming Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

They’ve yet to pinpoint the exact cause, with guesses focusing on everything from tiny mites to pesticide overload, but one thing scientists do know is that we need the bees to pollinate, since a third of our food crops are rapidly disappearing. But treating honeybees with even more chemicals is just fueling the fire, according to one subset of beekeepers.

“We’re “˜Backwards’ because we rely on observation and natural practices rather than pesticides and other chemicals to keep our bees thriving,” write the self-proclaimed Backwards Beekeepers, a group of organic beekeepers in Los Angeles who are determined to help local bee populations thrive.

While CCD has hit commercial bees hard, wild bees seem to be doing just fine – and Backwards Beekeepers believe their health is due to their more natural way of life. The Backwards Beekeepers trap feral swarms of bees, transfer them to new hives and provide organic chemical-free support while allowing nature to do most of the work.

Conventional beekeepers place sheets made of plastic or wax in their hives for their honeybees to build upon, but the problem is, bees aren’t too fond of plastic and the wax is contaminated by chemicals and pesticides. The hexagonal cell pattern on the sheets is often too large, encouraging the growth of oversized bees that may gather more pollen and make more honey, but are also more susceptible to mites and thus require chemical treatment.

The Backwards Beekeepers – made up of Kirk Anderson, Charles Martin Simon and Michael Bush – believe that this just plain unnatural system is adding unnecessary stress to bee populations. Their own system relies on wood strips painted with chemical-free beeswax taken from their own previous harvests.

Simon outlines the 10 Principles of Beekeeping Backwards, explaining that observation, working with nature and above all supporting the health of the bees are the most important things you can remember, adding “Beekeeping is not about honey – it’s not about money – it’s about survival.”

Want to get started as a Backwards Beekeeper? Check out our primer, ‘How to Keep Bees: Basics of Bee Keeping for Beginners‘ and then bone-up on natural beekeeping methods at Beehuman.blogspot.com.

Image: hr.icio

The post Backwards Beekeeping: Natural Care of Feral Bees appeared first on EcoSalon.