Comments on: None of our beeswax, indeed http://www.vert-a-go.com/2008/05/15/none-of-our-beeswax-indeed/ Finding food that's good for you in Saskatoon and beyond Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:29:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Sandy http://www.vert-a-go.com/2008/05/15/none-of-our-beeswax-indeed/#comment-17 Sandy Mon, 19 May 2008 15:24:50 +0000 http://www.vert-a-go.com/?p=59#comment-17 That's a great story about the Paris opera house bees. Definitely, there would be a much greater variety of plants for the bees to choose from in the city - I hadn't thought of that. The American version of the Canadian Wildlife Service, the National Wildlife Federation, has a really great guide called "The Gardener's Guide to Global Warming" - it is a free download. I used it in a class I taught about "climate-proofing" your yard, and there is really good information about how wildlife is going to be affected by warmer temperatures, disrupted rain and snowfall patterns, shifting climate zones/hardiness zones, and plant diversity (invasive plants pushing out natives, etc.). Bleak scenarios, but lots of practical suggestions for what we can do in our own yards, neighbourhoods, and cities to either adapt or help (a little) to mitigate climate change. http://www.nwf.org/globalwarming/ That’s a great story about the Paris opera house bees. Definitely, there would be a much greater variety of plants for the bees to choose from in the city - I hadn’t thought of that.

The American version of the Canadian Wildlife Service, the National Wildlife Federation, has a really great guide called “The Gardener’s Guide to Global Warming” - it is a free download. I used it in a class I taught about “climate-proofing” your yard, and there is really good information about how wildlife is going to be affected by warmer temperatures, disrupted rain and snowfall patterns, shifting climate zones/hardiness zones, and plant diversity (invasive plants pushing out natives, etc.). Bleak scenarios, but lots of practical suggestions for what we can do in our own yards, neighbourhoods, and cities to either adapt or help (a little) to mitigate climate change. http://www.nwf.org/globalwarming/

]]> By: Sandy http://www.vert-a-go.com/2008/05/15/none-of-our-beeswax-indeed/#comment-16 Sandy Mon, 19 May 2008 15:09:03 +0000 http://www.vert-a-go.com/?p=59#comment-16 I guess allergies to bees have to be a consideration if you're keeping bees in the city. After I put in a bunch of bee-friendly plants, my next door neighbour told me that she was deathly allergic to bee stings. Luckily for me she never goes outside. At the very least, you can get one of those wooden nesting boxes to attract mason bees/orchard bees. (Maybe that birding/gardening store on 2nd Ave. (Backyard Gardener?) would have them?) They would be really easy to build though and it could be a fun kid project if the kids are really advanced and use power tools, or if you used straws to stick in the holes, or.. something. Here's a description of how to build one, with photos: http://www.wingsinflight.com/gardbees.html I guess allergies to bees have to be a consideration if you’re keeping bees in the city. After I put in a bunch of bee-friendly plants, my next door neighbour told me that she was deathly allergic to bee stings. Luckily for me she never goes outside.

At the very least, you can get one of those wooden nesting boxes to attract mason bees/orchard bees. (Maybe that birding/gardening store on 2nd Ave. (Backyard Gardener?) would have them?) They would be really easy to build though and it could be a fun kid project if the kids are really advanced and use power tools, or if you used straws to stick in the holes, or.. something. Here’s a description of how to build one, with photos: http://www.wingsinflight.com/gardbees.html

]]> By: Susan http://www.vert-a-go.com/2008/05/15/none-of-our-beeswax-indeed/#comment-15 Susan Fri, 16 May 2008 20:31:47 +0000 http://www.vert-a-go.com/?p=59#comment-15 Yes, I should have added that along to the list: consider getting your own bees! Like you say, they are actually perfect for the urban environment because they don't need much space. I'm not surprised about city bees being more productive than in the country; maybe there are a larger variety of plant species around for them to browse than on acres and acres of monoculture crops on a farm? I remember at Fauchon in Paris they had dozens of different types of honeys, including some from bees that live on the top of the Opera House (a nice article about it here: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E6D7103BF935A15755C0A9659C8B63). I'm actually thinking of looking into it for next year...although I must find out if bees fall into the same category as chickens for the City of Saskatoon's livestock laws. The Hinterland Who's Who article on bees has a link to the Canadian Wildlife Service's Wild About Gardening site: http://www.wildaboutgardening.org/en/growing/section1/index.htm. They have advice there about how to choose native plants for different hardiness zones that will encourage wildlife, including beneficial insects. There's also other neat stuff, like how to start a community wildlife habitat project. Yes, I should have added that along to the list: consider getting your own bees! Like you say, they are actually perfect for the urban environment because they don’t need much space. I’m not surprised about city bees being more productive than in the country; maybe there are a larger variety of plant species around for them to browse than on acres and acres of monoculture crops on a farm? I remember at Fauchon in Paris they had dozens of different types of honeys, including some from bees that live on the top of the Opera House (a nice article about it here: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E6D7103BF935A15755C0A9659C8B63). I’m actually thinking of looking into it for next year…although I must find out if bees fall into the same category as chickens for the City of Saskatoon’s livestock laws.

The Hinterland Who’s Who article on bees has a link to the Canadian Wildlife Service’s Wild About Gardening site: http://www.wildaboutgardening.org/en/growing/section1/index.htm. They have advice there about how to choose native plants for different hardiness zones that will encourage wildlife, including beneficial insects. There’s also other neat stuff, like how to start a community wildlife habitat project.

]]> By: Sandy http://www.vert-a-go.com/2008/05/15/none-of-our-beeswax-indeed/#comment-12 Sandy Fri, 16 May 2008 16:15:18 +0000 http://www.vert-a-go.com/?p=59#comment-12 Scaling up urban beekeeping could be a great way to boost bee numbers - there is at least one apiary in my neighborhood and we buy the honey from a small local grocery. It is really well-suited to cities actually, because it doesn't require much space - apparently there are loads of beekeepers selling their honey in Brooklyn and New York community gardens (even on rooftop gardens!). I've also read that city bees are more productive than country bees and that the honey might even be more "pure" or organic. Interesting article about this and London beekeepers in the Independent: "The countryside seems green and clean, but the crops are often covered in pesticides," explains James Hammill, a former actor turned owner of The Hive Honey Shop in south London, which stocks honey produced at the Hammills' 40 hives across London and southern England. "Bees in cities produce more honey. We get 40 to 50 jars per hive every season in our country apiaries; in the city, we get more like 150 jars." http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/why-londons-beekeepers-are-a-growing-band-476750.html The types of plants we grow are also really important - planting a bee garden with a diversity of bee-attracting trees, shrubs, and flowers (like Bee Balm in your post!) not only brings in the native bees, but also tends to call the butterflies, hummingbirds, and beneficial insects like wasps and lady bugs. Examples: Cosmos, black-eyed Susans, lupines, whatever your native wildflowers are. Scaling up urban beekeeping could be a great way to boost bee numbers - there is at least one apiary in my neighborhood and we buy the honey from a small local grocery. It is really well-suited to cities actually, because it doesn’t require much space - apparently there are loads of beekeepers selling their honey in Brooklyn and New York community gardens (even on rooftop gardens!).

I’ve also read that city bees are more productive than country bees and that the honey might even be more “pure” or organic. Interesting article about this and London beekeepers in the Independent: “The countryside seems green and clean, but the crops are often covered in pesticides,” explains James Hammill, a former actor turned owner of The Hive Honey Shop in south London, which stocks honey produced at the Hammills’ 40 hives across London and southern England. “Bees in cities produce more honey. We get 40 to 50 jars per hive every season in our country apiaries; in the city, we get more like 150 jars.” http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/why-londons-beekeepers-are-a-growing-band-476750.html

The types of plants we grow are also really important - planting a bee garden with a diversity of bee-attracting trees, shrubs, and flowers (like Bee Balm in your post!) not only brings in the native bees, but also tends to call the butterflies, hummingbirds, and beneficial insects like wasps and lady bugs. Examples: Cosmos, black-eyed Susans, lupines, whatever your native wildflowers are.

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