Around this time of year the tomatoes in backyard gardens are growing plump, the corn is high and the Swiss chard is leafy. But there's something your garden might be missing: Bees.
"Once you start beekeeping, you look at nature . . . in a completely different way," says Ric Erikson, a member of the North Shore Bee Club.
"You understand the relationship between bees, the plants, and us."
Erikson, who says he has been fascinated with bees since he was a kid, started keeping bees three years ago at the Queen Mary Community Garden in North Vancouver. He now helps novice beekeepers start up their own hives.
Warren Wise, who also goes by the name Blue, is one of those beginners. He's one of the gardeners at the Squamish Nation's Harmony Garden, and now the proud keeper of two beehives donated by Queen Mary Community Garden.
Like Erikson, Wise has always been interested in bees.
"For the last three years I was applying for jobs as assistant beekeeper, but with no luck because I had no experience," says Wise.
The bees arrived at Harmony Garden in April. Despite getting stung the very first day, "I was stoked," says Wise. Getting stung, says both Erikson and Wise, doesn't happen that often, but it's just something that beekeepers have to get used to.
Erikson recommends that beginners either take a course, like the one offered by the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture, or be mentored by an experienced beekeeper.
Wise's beekeeping experience has been smooth sailing so far, except for in late spring, when the bees got "swarmy." That's when a strong, well-populated hive will send out its queen, along with thousands of bees, to look for a place to establish a new hive. Wise had heard about the yearly phenomenon, but it still caught him off-guard. He called Erikson, who helped him safely contain the swarm.
While it can be alarming to see a cloud of bees in your backyard, Erikson says bees are docile and unlikely to sting during this period, because they are concentrating on staying with their queen. The North Shore Bee Club has an agreement with the three North Shore municipalities that they will come and deal with swarms, as well as any migrating bees that might manage to build unwanted hives under eaves or in backyard trees.
If you keep bees, you'll start to see an improvement in the quality of fruits and vegetables in your neighbourhood, says Erikson. Suburban gardens make an ideal place to keep bees, because they don't need much room and there are plenty of things for them to feed on. Then there's the honey: each colony produces between 75 and 100 pounds of honey each year, and it's flavoured by all the good things they eat.
"The bees have so many sources of food (on the North Shore)," he says. "They get a really wide mix of sources of nectar, from flowers to fruits and vegetable to maple trees."
Hobbyist beekeepers are also helping to keep the bee population healthy. Bees are essential to food production, but under threat from chemicals and largescale agricultural practices, says Erikson, numbers are in decline.
For potential beekeepers who are still not sure if the hobby is for them, Erikson offers a one-year trial program.
"I will put a bee colony in their backyard for one year and they can be my helper, and they will get a chance to see the full cycle of beekeeping for one year," says Erikson. "Then at the end of the year they can make an informed decision."
For more information on beekeeping on the North Shore, visit www.beefriendly.ca.
