Winnipeg buzzing over backyard beehives

Winnipeg is breaking out inhives in the first spring since an expansion of urban beekeeping was approved last year.

The city has issued 14 new permits since council gave thegreenlightto expand beekeeping to all urban areas last fall, which brings the total number of active bee operations to 17.

"It's an exciting time for a lot of people," said Mike Gordon, who manages Bee Outfitters, one of the few places to buy beekeeping gear in the city.

Gordon said there's an explosion in the number of new hobbyists, compared to mostly commercial beekeepers in previous years. He speculated most new permits are probably going to Winnipeggers who think "it's a good way for them to help save the bees."

Gordon said people "from all walks of life" are signing up to become apiarists, from kids to seniors, doctors and lawyers.

In 2016, the city initially allowed apiarists to keep bees in properly managed colonies on downtown rooftops and farmlands within the Perimeter. In October 2017, council agreed to expand beekeeping to all areas, including residential, industrialand commercial zones, as well as agricultural and institutional properties.

All new beekeeping operations in Winnipeg must be approved by the city through the zoning and permits office before putting plans into place. Each site is limited to maximum four hives plus one nucleus hive, in accordance to additional planning and design standards outlined on the city's website and the Manitoba Bee Act.

Beekeepers are responsible for following best practices to take care of the bees and prevent swarming, aggressive behaviourand disease, according to the city's website.

"Getting involved in beekeeping means you should be a responsible neighbour," said MarkFriesen, president of the Manitoba Beekeepers' Association. "You license your dog, you license your bees, you do what you have to do."

Friesensaid urban beekeeping helps the local bee economy in terms of getting honey to market and the environment. He said more people may actuallybe keeping bees than the city's registry shows.

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson wasunable to specify new permitsby neighbourhood because that info isn't publicly disclosed by the city's property committee.