Your chance to get up close and personal with some very busy insects today (August 31) and tomorrow as the City of Airdrie hosts Open Hive Days at its urban agriculture project in East Lake.  

In June, the city set up the pilot project on land they owned and, so far, according to both Airdrie Senior Planner Gail Gibeau and beekeeper Kim McLean, the project has been a real success as Airdrie residents show interest in the work of our yellow and black striped friends.

"I've got several phone calls commending the city for taking this initiative," says Gibeau.  "People are really happy about it.  They're coming out and are interested in it.  I get at least one phone call every week about this project.  When we just started I was getting several phone calls from people wanting to get involved and wanting to know if they could have bees on their property.  There's a strong support for it."

McLean explains that when he's out working the hives people will often stop by just to ask how they're doing.  "Some of them ask some very insightful questions.  They want to know how they're doing in an urban environment, what they're eating, is it a strong hive.  Things like that."

McLean says that urban bees have a distinct culinary advantage over their rural counterparts.  "An urban environment has a lot of flowers so there's a variety of pollens and nectars that bees in an urban environment can access.  Compared to hives that I have in a rural area where they might be close to an alfalfa or clover or canola field and surviving off those nectars.  In an urban environment, there's a wide variety of nectar-producing plants.  It would be like humans going to the same restaurant everyday or going to every restaurant in town."

Anyone who stops by Open Hive Days will get to taste the honey that's been produced by bees enjoying that "floral smorgasbord."  McLean says, "You might find that Airdrie honey tastes a little different than what you buy in the supermarket."  

McLean also says that Open Hive Days will be as hands on an experience as you want it to be.  "I will, weather permitting, open the hive up, so people who wish to put a suit on and get a little closer to the hive, come and take a look.  I'm also going to put an observation hive, that's the bees behind glass, there too.  So if people are interested, but a little bit reluctant to put a suit on and get closer to all the bees, they can at least see what a frame of bees looks like behind glass and ask questions."

According to Gibeau, once the pilot project has wrapped up at the end of September, a report will be taken back to city council and one or more decisions will be made.

"Whether we should extend it (the pilot project) on a year-round basis, whether or not we should be including other city-owned land.  The other thing we'll be doing is taking a proposal to council to really look at allowing a pilot project on private property.  That's something that we're also working on.   

Open Hive Days are on from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm today and tomorrow at the hive located at 15 East Lake Hill next to the Recycling Depot. 

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