Reasons for hosting a hive may be as varied as the flavors of honey, but an undeniable resurgence in local, small-scale beekeeping has prompted a near swarm of how-to classes and bee-centric events in Santa Cruz County.
“Beekeeping is part science, part art and part alchemy,” said Richard Jones, botanist, entomologist and co-author of the “The Beekeeper’s Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes and Other Home Uses” [Stewart, Tabori and Chang, April 2011; 416 pages; $35].
“One of the prime environmental bonuses of backyard beekeeping is that it makes people — beekeepers, their children, their friends and their communities — more aware of the delicate interactions between different animals and plants and species on the planet.”
That the fate of honey bees and humans could be inextricably linked is an idea that has backyard beekeepers abuzz. Their interest is just one facet of a growing national trend of DIY gardening, canning and living locally, a movement many simply call homesteading. Read full article
Gretchen Wegrich 