hives for humanity

8132019 Hives for Humanity

httpslidepdfcomreaderfullhives-for-humanity 13

ITrsquoS A WARM October day on aMelbourne rooftop VanessaKwiatkowski and Mat Lumalasi aunrecognisable in their full-body

suits their faces obscured from viewThey each pull out a gun There arehundreds if not thousands in their firline After the deed they stand there

wisps of smoke still emanating from thguns in their gloved hands and surveytheir handiwork Robbery is now theirpriority Across the city many others acarrying out similar acts on balconies ain community gardens on rooftops ofresidences schools and even hotels

Welcome to the sunny and subvers world of urban beekeeping ndash whereregular folks don white suits brandishbee smokers and steal from hives all ina bid not only to save the humble honebee but perhaps to save the world

B

EES HAVE LONG beenbarometers of the health of thisinterconnected world we live in

They pollinate more than 70 of the 10crop species that provide 90 per centof the worldrsquos food A 2010 Australianfederal government report concludedthat about 65 per cent of agriculturalproduction in our nation depends onpollination by European honeybees

Alarmingly all is not happy in thehive Experts cite at least a dozen factoleading to big problems in global beepopulations including increased use opesticides air pollution fungal diseasehabitat loss and parasites The Varroa mite a parasite thatrsquos deadly to bee

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HONEY FROM THE HEART

In a bid to ensure the honeybeersquos survivaldo-it-yourself hobbyists are installing hives in

backyards and on rooftops across Australia

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Hives forhumanity

mbing the suburbs these Melbourneoftop hives each produce about 50kghoney per year for Mat Lumalasiessed here in a protective full-body suit

URBAN WILDLIFE

A p i s m e l l i f e r a


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says the movement is very strongldquoPeople understand and accept that

we need to start consuming energy andfood differentlyrdquo he says ldquoHowever itrsquos

very hard to address these things Butone of the things we can do very simplyis grow vegetables keep some bees andraise a few chooksrdquo

Although some city-dwellinghobbyists might cite saving the planet astheir key motivation for owning hives

others do it for the 50-odd kilograms of

honey that a backyard hive can produce

each year or just because itrsquos funldquoWhat we especially like aboutkeeping bees in an urban environmentis that you can have your own littlesanctuary or lsquoconnectivenessrsquo to nature

without having to travel somewhere toexperience itrdquo Vanessa says ldquoWorking

with bees can also be quite meditativeSome rooftop views are amazing andsome gardens are just like escaping toanother worldrdquo

ldquoBeekeeping is something you canonly do successfully when in a relaxed

state of beingrdquo says Anna Tonkin fromThe Urban Beekeeper Melbourne ldquoInorder to work the bees quietly with aslittle intrusion as possible one needs to

be calm and observant It requiresgood concentration thinking andproblem solving Itrsquos a matrix of

ensuring [adequate] food and watersupplies reproduction and diseasemanagement It really is a craftrdquo

Aside from the technical challengesdealing with neighbours and theirmisconceptions can be difficult

ldquoMany people are unnecessarily afraidof beesrdquo Anna says ldquoUnlike wasps beesare not interested in people or food anddrink They go back and forth from hiveto flower to hive literally until they dieIf they do sting someone it is most likelyto occur because someone has interfered

with them while they were foragingBees only sting if they feel under threatrdquoThe key to keeping neighbours onsideis to manage hives effectively and toproperly communicate the safety issuesldquoItrsquos also considered good practice ndash

standard actually ndash to share the honey with your neighboursrdquo Anna addsldquoAfter all their gardens help to make itrdquo

URBAN HONEY IS a complexblend of all the floral sourcesthe bees have visited Every

sample of honey tastes different onaccount of this While an experiencedhoney judge can detect if the bees have

visited kitchen gardens giving it aherbal edge rather than having citrus oreucalyptus notes the average taste tester

will simply discover a wonderfully

The bee-team Vanessa Kwiatkowski at left

and Mat ldquoIn an urban environment there is so

much diversity that the bees really do have a vast

selection to choose fromrdquo Vanessa says

ldquoOne of the things we can do verysimply is grow vegetables keep

some bees and raise a few chooksrdquo

colonies poses a threat to the speciesrsquosurvival worldwide In Australia oneof the last Varroa-free strongholds onthe planet keeping bees and ensuring

healthy species numbers is a critical taskIt is a growing trend with some 10000or more registered beekeepers and overhalf a million hives

ldquoBees are the new chickensrdquo Vanessasays She and partner Mat are thefounders of Melbourne City RooftopHoney an organisation dedicatedto bringing bees back to the city andsuburbs of Melbourne ldquoNot too longago keeping bees was mainly the domainof old menhellipbut therersquos been a surge ofinterest in this dying craft We have 300

people on a waiting list wanting bees ontheir rooftops and in their backyardsBusiness is going very wellrdquo Melbournehas joined the likes of Paris LondonToronto San Francisco and New YorkCity as a global honey hotspot

Although some may see the rise ofurban farming as a new craze it is infact a renaissance Growing food awayfrom where we live and labour is themore recent fad

Robert Redpath owner of BeeSustainable a Melbourne store selling

beekeeping gear and offering courses

URBAN WILDLIFE

Urban workers ldquoKeeping bees is a wonderful

way one can connect to nature even in our

concrete junglesrdquo Vanessa says



aromatic honey on par with (if notbetter than) commercial products

ldquoWhen you eat honey that has beentaken directly from the hive there isimmediacy to the experience thatrsquos

quite exquisiterdquo Robert says ldquoThis isreally the way to eat honey Until youkeep your own bees yoursquore unlikely toexperience thisrdquo

While it may be overly optimistic toimagine a future in which our cities areliving breathing more self-sufficientplaces ndash with every backyard balconymedian strip rooftop and sunny windowgiven over to food herbs and habitat ndashimplementing such a change might notbe as difficult as it seems

Much of the technology ndash for

example the beehive itself ndash is thesame as it has been since the good olddays Granted there have been effortsto modernise the beekeeping craft butmany industry experts deride attemptsto improve on the standard hives aspretty but pointless A futuristic hiveconcept developed by electronicscorporation Philips is a case in pointIt looks like an art installation butsome speculate whether it will work as

well as traditional hives If anythingbeekeeping in urban areas is looking

backwards rather than forwards when it

comes to design The Top Bar Hive amodel believed to have been developedthousands of years ago is becoming thecity-dwellersrsquo hive of choice due to itsease of use in small spaces The Top Barmodel is set up horizontally so that thebees build a brood nest at the back andfill the front with honey

The standard Langstroth Hive(pictured above) has removable

lsquostackedrsquo frames and a vertical top-and-bottom structure It was patented in the1800s and is still the most commonlyused to this day ndash nobody to date hassuccessfully reinvented the honey wheel

In an increasingly interconnectedand overburdened world a movetowards self-sufficiency makes a lot ofsense ndash environmentally financially and

The Varroa mite

(left) responsible for

damage to bee popula-

tions worldwide is yetto reach Australian shores

Experts say it is only a mat-

ter of time until it does

Bees travel up to

5km when collecting

pollen and nectar

In Australia there are 35 industries

dependent on honeybee pollination for

most of their production

Generally speaking if you are keepinga beehive in Australia yoursquore required to

be registered with your statersquos Depart-

ment of Primary Industries (DPI) which

conducts disease prevention and control

programs for the benefit of beekeepers

Sweet dreams Mat holds a frame alive with

bees His partner Vanessa says It can be quite

meditative working with beesand some gar-

dens are just like escaping to another [place]

983124HE BUZZ ABOUT BEES

for community wellbeing As retireesfamilies and inner-city hipsters alljoin the movement across Australiathe question needs to be asked if thegovernment is lagging behind in helping

make this happen Adam Beck with the Green BuildingCouncil of Australia ( GBCA ) saysprogress is being made An lsquoAccess toFresh Foodrsquo credit is being developedby the GBCA in consultation withindustry and government and ldquorewardsprojects that provide communityfood production and distributionopportunities ndash from growing fruittrees and edible hedgerows todeveloping community gardens andurban beehivesrdquo Adam says

Although the government isbeginning to develop incentives suchas these to help inner-city agricultureflourish itrsquos the everyday people onrooftops in backyards and in thesuburbs who are actually drivingthe agenda

With growing concerns aroundclimate change and food security theselone figures ndash masked gloved and fullyarmed ndash are continuing to take mattersinto their own hands

Not to do this many argue would

be a crime AG

URBAN WILDLIFE

Honey its

the future

This beautifully

designed Philips

prototype hive

may have a hint

of the space

-age about it

but can it deliver

the goods



says the movement is very strongldquoPeople understand and accept that

we need to start consuming energy andfood differentlyrdquo he says ldquoHowever itrsquos

very hard to address these things Butone of the things we can do very simplyis grow vegetables keep some bees andraise a few chooksrdquo

Although some city-dwellinghobbyists might cite saving the planet astheir key motivation for owning hives

others do it for the 50-odd kilograms of

honey that a backyard hive can produce

each year or just because itrsquos funldquoWhat we especially like aboutkeeping bees in an urban environmentis that you can have your own littlesanctuary or lsquoconnectivenessrsquo to nature

without having to travel somewhere toexperience itrdquo Vanessa says ldquoWorking

with bees can also be quite meditativeSome rooftop views are amazing andsome gardens are just like escaping toanother worldrdquo

ldquoBeekeeping is something you canonly do successfully when in a relaxed

state of beingrdquo says Anna Tonkin fromThe Urban Beekeeper Melbourne ldquoInorder to work the bees quietly with aslittle intrusion as possible one needs to

be calm and observant It requiresgood concentration thinking andproblem solving Itrsquos a matrix of

ensuring [adequate] food and watersupplies reproduction and diseasemanagement It really is a craftrdquo

Aside from the technical challengesdealing with neighbours and theirmisconceptions can be difficult

ldquoMany people are unnecessarily afraidof beesrdquo Anna says ldquoUnlike wasps beesare not interested in people or food anddrink They go back and forth from hiveto flower to hive literally until they dieIf they do sting someone it is most likelyto occur because someone has interfered

with them while they were foragingBees only sting if they feel under threatrdquoThe key to keeping neighbours onsideis to manage hives effectively and toproperly communicate the safety issuesldquoItrsquos also considered good practice ndash

standard actually ndash to share the honey with your neighboursrdquo Anna addsldquoAfter all their gardens help to make itrdquo

URBAN HONEY IS a complexblend of all the floral sourcesthe bees have visited Every

sample of honey tastes different onaccount of this While an experiencedhoney judge can detect if the bees have

visited kitchen gardens giving it aherbal edge rather than having citrus oreucalyptus notes the average taste tester

will simply discover a wonderfully

The bee-team Vanessa Kwiatkowski at left

and Mat ldquoIn an urban environment there is so

much diversity that the bees really do have a vast

selection to choose fromrdquo Vanessa says

ldquoOne of the things we can do verysimply is grow vegetables keep

some bees and raise a few chooksrdquo

colonies poses a threat to the speciesrsquosurvival worldwide In Australia oneof the last Varroa-free strongholds onthe planet keeping bees and ensuring

healthy species numbers is a critical taskIt is a growing trend with some 10000or more registered beekeepers and overhalf a million hives

ldquoBees are the new chickensrdquo Vanessasays She and partner Mat are thefounders of Melbourne City RooftopHoney an organisation dedicatedto bringing bees back to the city andsuburbs of Melbourne ldquoNot too longago keeping bees was mainly the domainof old menhellipbut therersquos been a surge ofinterest in this dying craft We have 300

people on a waiting list wanting bees ontheir rooftops and in their backyardsBusiness is going very wellrdquo Melbournehas joined the likes of Paris LondonToronto San Francisco and New YorkCity as a global honey hotspot

Although some may see the rise ofurban farming as a new craze it is infact a renaissance Growing food awayfrom where we live and labour is themore recent fad

Robert Redpath owner of BeeSustainable a Melbourne store selling

beekeeping gear and offering courses

URBAN WILDLIFE

Urban workers ldquoKeeping bees is a wonderful

way one can connect to nature even in our

concrete junglesrdquo Vanessa says















The Varroa mite






Bees travel up to

5km when collecting

pollen and nectar



















be a crime AG

URBAN WILDLIFE

Honey its

the future

This beautifully

designed Philips

prototype hive

may have a hint

of the space

-age about it

but can it deliver

the goods















The Varroa mite






Bees travel up to

5km when collecting

pollen and nectar



















be a crime AG

URBAN WILDLIFE

Honey its

the future

This beautifully

designed Philips

prototype hive

may have a hint

of the space

-age about it

but can it deliver

the goods

hives for humanity

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