Honeybees have been facing challenges and difficulties in living all across the world. Environmental factors, use of pesticides, habitat loss, etc., are the key reasons behind the rapid decline of the world’s honeybees. However, in New York, the population of bees has been soaring for the past few years.
The number of metropolitan beekeepers has dramatically grown in New York City, with enrolled bee colonies growing ten times in the past five years. In Manhattan, people place their hives on roofs, including high rises and commercial centers, making for “phenomenal apiaries.
Tending colonies of bees on top of New York City and other metropolitan regions is the same old thing. However, there has been something of a renaissance in the past five to eight years, and it has acquired incredible popularity.
What is the Reason Behind this Boom?
Since New York City legalized beekeeping in 2010, it has increased prominence. It is a small space activity; a colony of bees is about the size of a two-cabinet file organizer. There are bee-focused nonprofits, recreational areas with pollinator gardens, and hyperlocal honey containers aplenty in green business sectors. Apiaries, which took care of the overflows during the pandemic, shows precisely how crazy New Yorkers have been with honey bees.
A few researchers also dread that honey bees, generally brought into the city to feed this beekeeping frenzy, represent a danger to local New York City pollinators, whose diminishing populaces could influence nearby vegetation and climate.
At the point when the pandemic has slowed human lives, empowering us to remain at home, partake in the outside, and focus on exercises in the natural world (like birding or planting), energy for urban beekeeping has also escalated.
According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, 115,000 to 125,000 beekeepers nationwide have been there. In addition, more than 326 registered hives were recorded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Along with this, several popular establishments, like the New York Hilton Midtown and the Bushwick Bakery Printing House, now have their beehives to prepare dishes and cocktails with local honey.
Why Is It Important to Save Bees?
When it comes to pollinator species, bees are at the top of the list. These significant pollinators are responsible for pollinating over a third of the crops that feed 90 percent of the planet. So if you want food, you need bees.
Honey bee populaces are in sharp decrease all over the planet, enduring an onslaught from an inadequately perceived phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. One explanation is the honey bees’ openness to potent pesticides and synthetic substances in rural regions. However, the lack thereof in New York makes the hives healthy & safe for the bees. As there is no spraying of chemical pesticides on top of the buildings and no chemicals interfering with the ins and outs of the beehives, New York has healthier hives compared to other regions.
Naturally, the honey gathered by these healthy bees is apt & the best for human consumption. There are numerous hives throughout the city that sell this “caramelized gold” in stores. It doesn’t matter whether it is produced in a shed or on a rooftop; people love to buy raw honey if it tastes good.
How is Consumption of Local Honey Good for Health?
Beyond the sweet pleasure, honey also offers a myriad of health benefits. Local honey is loaded with many beneficial properties making it extremely useful in fighting allergies. This fits best in the case of honey produced in New York City. There are very few indigenous trees and countless varieties of tree pollen; the honey produced by urban bees works well in fighting seasonal pollen allergies.
According to Mr. Basem Barry, founder & CEO of Geohoney, though beekeeping is creating a buzz in New York City, it is not easy for the urban beekeepers to manage things. It is very tough to find a safe place to put the bees, carrying heavy equipment, and living with a fear that the bee swarm will find its way into the crowd below. However, the beekeepers make a lot of effort in providing bees a safe & healthy environment to live in, so we should be thankful to them.
Next time, when you drizzle sweet honey in morning yogurt, add it to a cup of tea or mix it into any of the dishes; just give a thought about where this honey came from and how much hard work is required in bringing it to your table.
