Category Archives: Outreach

It Depends

Last night we had another meeting of our local bee club, the Calgary and District Beekeepers. These are becoming legendary events with over 150 bee people, sipping coffee and doing bee-talk.  Although it’s great fun mixing with so many nice … Continue reading

Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Outreach | Tagged | 10 Comments

Climb Every Mountain; Raise Every Dollar

It seems that Saving the Bees has turned into quite a nice little cottage industry. Although honey bees are more numerous today than any time in history, some people seem intent on telling other people that the honey bees are … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Should a “Bee City” Ban Honey Bees?

In February, Toronto became Canada’s first certified Bee City. This week, a bedroom community just outside Calgary became Canada’s second. I heard the news last night on a CBC radio interview of Dr. Preston Pouteaux, a hobby beekeeper who apparently … Continue reading

Posted in Ecology, Outreach, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Rooftop Bees

There’s a jolly fat man up on the roof. With a smoker and hive tool. Rooftop beekeeping seems modern, trendy, and new, but it’s been happening for generations. Ever since homes had rooftops. I’m surprised there isn’t a Rooftop Beekeepers … Continue reading

Posted in Bee Yards, Culture, or lack thereof, Humour, Outreach, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Greatest Show on Earth

My home town – Calgary, Alberta, Canada – hosts an annual 10-day cowpoke fest called the Calgary Stampede, aka, “The Greatest Show on Earth”. I’m not a cowboy, but I’ve been lucky enough to help friends with spring branding and … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Outreach | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Dozens of Bees

You know that a hive of bees may contain 50,000 insects. You probably also know that you can often open a hive and work its frames with just short-sleeves, sandals, and a bit of smoke. We tend to forget that … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach, Save the Bees, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Wonders of Beekeeping

I’m wondering if anyone reading this blog has seen a movie called The Wonders. It’s a beekeeping movie. Sort of. From what I’ve read about the film (and seen in the trailers) it appears to be an Italian Ulee’s Gold … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Movies, Outreach | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Calgary’s ALS Fundraiser

This is a beekeeping blog, I know. But I sometimes write non-bee stuff. Once a year I go entirely off-topic and write a bit about our annual Calgary ALS fundraiser, Betty’s Run. Thank you for indulging my digressions. I have … Continue reading

Posted in Friends, Outreach | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Bees on Leashes

Back in November, the City of Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada, accidentally made it illegal to keep bees. Or wasps, hornets, yellow jackets and fire ants. (What? No more pet fire ants?)  Now they are trying to amend the prohibition … Continue reading

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Sound and Honey (as seen in BeesCene)

The editor of BC’s BeeScene bee magazine picked up an earlier blog post of mine. Last month I wrote about my 13-year-old’s science fair project where Daniel used ultrasound to liquefy comb honey. The results were promising, but not overwhelming. … Continue reading

Posted in Comb Honey, Honey, Outreach, Science, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment