How to choose the right urban beekeeping partner

Contrary to popular belief – and unfounded fears – almost any building can host a honey bee hive. But to truly take advantage of your urban beekeeping experience and keep your bees happy, choosing a qualified, experienced partner is key. After all, beekeeping in the city comes with additional responsibilities, especially if you own or manage a commercial building. To help you make your decision and ask the right questions along the way, here are the 6 things to look for in your ideal urban beekeeping partner.

1. Turnkey services

Urban hives require regular inspections and maintenance. It’s important to work with a professional provider that has the experience, tools, and expertise to keep your bees safe and healthy in a city setting. The right partner will take on everything including installation, maintenance, customer service, public education, workshops, communications and marketing tools, and customized honey jars. Though few beekeeping companies provide all of these services while keeping a particular emphasis on education, we believe they’re all essential for maximizing your impact, engagement levels, and investment.

2. Experienced teams

The urban beekeeper’s main mission is to ensure the well-being of the colonies across the city while creating opportunities to build public awareness about our delicate ecosystem. Before you know it, hive inspections can quickly become full-blown conferences between you and the neighbors in your building, so you’ll need a partner at the ready with an experienced, passionate, communicative, and skilled team that’s eager to answer questions and keep the conversation going.

3. Local facilities & knowledge

You should be able to count on a local partner who can respond to your needs in a timely manner. That’s why we have local beekeeping teams in every city where our bees buzz. We’re always nearby and ready to keep your bees happy, healthy, and productive.

Any partner worth their weight in honey will have an in-depth understanding of local regulations concerning the presence and maintenance of a hive in your urban geographic region. Before you sign on the dotted line, be sure to discuss the regulations in place and validate that your partner has all bases covered.

4. Insurance coverage & safety certifications

Though beekeeping in the city is safe when done properly, it does come with additional insurance responsibilities – especially if those bees are in regular contact with the public. To stay compliant and safe, make sure your beekeeping partner offers complete liability insurance and your beekeeper has completed the necessary safety training to be prepared for any situation.

5. Adapted facilities

Urban beekeeping involves a whole slew of specialized equipment and facilities: adapted trucks, certified urban honey houses, extraction and honey-jarring equipment, housing and storage space – the list goes on. To avoid any complications, choose a partner that’s properly and professionally set up in your city with the right equipment and certifications to make sure the season rolls out smoothly.

6. Free site assessment

Once you think you’ve found your ideal partner, we recommend you kick-start your collaboration by requesting a free site assessment. A good partner will evaluate your needs, determine if your building is suitable for bees, and identify the best potential hive locations on your property.

7. Sustainable practices

Urban beekeeping is a powerful way to connect people to nature and inspire environmental action. But just installing hives isn’t enough to drive real ecological impact. When choosing a beekeeping partner, ask what they are doing to implement more sustainable practices.

For example, we at Alvéole made the decision to limit our packages to one hive starting in 2023. In recent years, urban beehives have become more prevalent in cities. There is a growing concern that urban honey bee hives are overtaxing the limited green spaces in cities and potentially competing with wild bees and other honey bees for food resources. By installing one hive per building, we can continue to spark a passion for bees in more city dwellers, without putting additional pressure on other pollinators. We are also proud to include bee hotels and bee-friendly gardens in our range of services to benefit all pollinators.