BEES, BEES, BEES!

BEES, BEES, BEES!

Just in time for National Pollinator Week (June 18^th – 24^th, 2018) we have made our rooftop honeybee sanctuary a reality! As active contributors to Pollinator Partnership and all the pollinator awareness efforts they bring, we are thrilled to do our part to bring awareness to the pollinator issue… on a local level.  

We first began actively “rescuing” honeybees that customers wanted exterminated a few years ago. The idea grew to move captured honeybee swarms to a location where they would survive and thrive. We formed a relationship with Western New York Bee Haven in Orleans County. The land they offer allows us to relocate the bees to a safe, natural environment filled with open space, fresh water and plenty of wildflowers for them to pollinate.  

Recently there has been a movement to raise acceptance for urban honeybee keeping. Many people would like to experience the joy (and sweet benefits) of keeping bees, but do not have access to land or are unwilling to travel far distances to keep their bees. Why not have a honeybee hive in your back yard, or in our case, on your rooftop!?

This week we were able to capture a swarm and place them into a temporary box, so they would acclimate to their new location. In the meantime, we built a permanent hive box that our staff painted with pictures of flowers, bees, vines and graphics. We had a lot of fun with it and we really personalized their new home! We then transferred the bees into the permanent box where they are doing great.  

By putting our hive on the roof, we are showing that urban beekeeping can be done safely…. our hive is right above our front door! There are plenty of flowers in the neighborhood for them to pollinate and don’t forget all the local vegetable gardens that will produce fruit because our bees did their job. The best part is, if it were not for the brightly colored hive box, no one would know they are there!

This story will be continued as our hive develops and grows. We will be sharing our experiences here and on our social media pages where you can see videos and pictures of the swarm we rescued. Save the bees!