Mountain Biking: Rubber side down- Time for a TurnaroundWell, my friends, things are finally looking up, and good timing, too, since I’m sure you’re all sick of me bitching. Recent bike build, including wheels… fun! In what feels like a fairly short time, I’ve come from sitting around … Continue reading → […]
- This Raised My PulseHey, baby… wanna ride? I may be injured, but I’m not dead yet. I can still have racy thoughts. Here’s more info. In other news, UBI was an awesome success! I had a blast. I highly recommend it. Overhaul day…. … Continue reading → […]
- Time for a Turnaround
- Edgy Veggie
Beekeeping at home: Could Louisville beekeepers save disappearing bees?
Why is Louisville, Colo., a perennial contender in best-place-to-live contests? (It won this year, if you didn’t know — see the Money story.)
As far as green stuff goes, you could probably come up with a pretty formidable list of reasons — just ask @TransitionLVCO — but here’s my theory: no bee stings.
That’s right. In Louisville, bees are banned from residential areas, so it stands to reason that nobody gets stung by bees, right? It’s not something that most of us really focus on, but there’s always a little part of your mind, somewhere, dedicated to bee anxiety, right? So come on, let’s hang in L-ville — bee-free!
Matt WinterSquash shows off one of two beehives he maintains in his backyard in Boulder County. Photo: Marty Caivano
Kidding aside, there really is a bee ban in Louisville and some aspiring beekeepers are trying to change that. And commercial beekeepers say there would be real value in increasing the amount of backyard beekeeping in the area:
Commercial beekeepers are encouraging hobbyists in hopes of increasing the local bee population, which is now estimated to be about half of what it was 50 years ago.
Mite infestations in the 1990s exacerbated the bee decline, while commercial beekeepers on the east and west coasts began to report sudden colony losses in 2006 — a problem dubbed “colony collapse disorder” by researchers. The cause of the phenomenon is unknown.
Tom Theobald, a beekeeper who owns Niwot Honey Farm, says the situation is potentially dire.
“It’s a very fragile population,” he said. “Bees are critical to our food system. A third of agriculture crops are pollinated by bees.”
He said a bee colony pollinates flowers in about a mile radius. With feral colonies disappearing, he said, “if you don’t have an active beekeeper, you don’t have bees.”
Fascinating, right? This is an activity that doesn’t necessarily reduce one’s carbon footprint, but instead potentially repairs a damaged population. But you local foodies already knew that — and so do the Obamas: The White House keeps two beehives on the lawn for honey. (The English are into urban beekeeping, too.)
Semi-related:
Have you noticed how many music videos there are about Colony Collapse Disorder? It’s getting out of hand.
Honey B-Boys (drop dead)
Disco-dancin’ honey bees (die)
Sad honey bee mockumentary
Do the Honey-Bee — naturally, the latest example features excessive autotuning.
Resources:
Getting started with bees [Mark Bittman blog]
Urban beekeeping — in your apartment [Chelsea Green]
Urban beekeeping: tending to the “overlooked livestock” [modernhomestead]
Get started in beekeeping [wikihow]
More FOOD on BigGreenBoulder
Locavore school lunches in Colorado
Beer with local hops
School kids actually use the salad bar
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