Meet Brian Hamlin. With hives all over Ontario, Hamlin has been at the forefront of urban beekeeping since the mid-1970s when he was struck by what he describes as “bee fever.”
His most recent project is guiding a small group of aspiring beekeeping enthusiasts who are hoping to establish beehives on University of Toronto grounds. (Full disclosure: I am one of them.)
This opportunity for urban beekeeping first surfaced with a casual chat between Hamlin—who sells the harvest from his apiaries at the St. Lawrence Market—and the Dean of New College, a devoted fan of Hamlin’s honey. The conversation led to the installation of a few hives atop New College’s Wilson Hall residence last semester. Hamlin then gave a talk on his experiences with urban beekeeping, which led to more widespread enthusiasm for beehives on campus.
A Cornell University study estimated that bees pollinate over $15 billion worth of seeds and crops in United States alone. That accounts for one third of the produce that graces our dining table, making the work of these little insects very valuable!
We are helplessly dependent on bees. Without insect pollinators, we’d have to switch to commercial pollinating, where genetically modified species feed on a diet of liquid sucrose transported in tanker-sized trucks.
To make sure this nightmare scenario does not unfold, bee enthusiasts at U of T have put in an order for a nuke (a unit of bees) to be delivered at the end of May. We will install this nuke atop New College, and hope to get more hives up on Hart House. If all goes to beekeeping plan, the hives will yield a harvest of honey by the end of the summer. The future of these spoils has yet to be determined, as the chances of a full harvest are not very high for first-time beekeepers. If it is successful, however, many agree that the harvest should be sourced to local farmers’ markets or on-campus cafes, with profit going to establish further hives in the future. The project is being supported with seed funding from the Environment Students’ Union and University of Toronto’s Environmental Reasource Network, but hopes to be sustainable with increased return each season.
Hamlin pointed out that urban beekeeping is more common than you might think. Toronto is home to four sites, containing 23 hives in total. In all of Canada, there are 10,000 apiarists who keep hives registered with provincial ministries. Hamlin suggested that there are more unregistered beekeepers, making it difficult to estimate their numbers. Most famous of these is the 10,000-bee apiary in the rooftop garden of the Fairmont Royal York, with bee-inspired names such as “V.I. Bee Suite,” “Honey Moon Suite,” and the “The Royal Sweet.”
Around the world, the Chicago City Hall famously serves up tea with honey from its rooftop apiary. So does the Palais Garnier (the Paris opera house), and the upscale food emporium Fortnum & Mason of London harvests their own honey as well.
Bees began to make news headlines when it was discovered that the adult bee population was disappearing at an alarming rate. Identified as the Colony Collapse Disorder, many theories emerged claiming to chart the reasons for this rapid decline in the bee population. One such theory points to the way modern agriculture business is practiced, where beekeepers are forced to deal with highly unstable and stressful schedules.
As the first inaugural meeting of the Bee Collective came to a close, leaving everyone abuzz with excitement, Hamlin closed with the story of Eva Crane, a scientist who drifted away from quantum mathematics into the field of bees, dedicating her entire life to studying them. Crane wrote the preeminent bible on apiculture, and died at the ripe old age of 95. Claiming that many beekeepers seem to lead uncannily long lives, Hamlin added, “bees can change your life.”
A bike tour of the Toronto Island apiary is planned for April 10. If you are interested in getting involved, please write to [email protected].
