March 5, 2008

Pollen Counts

Urban Beekeeping Day

The latest buzz? Bees.

See for yourself at Urban Beekeeping Day, Saturday, March 8, at Wave Hill, a public garden and cultural center nestled on the Hudson River in the Bronx.

It’s a slight trek but worth it. In the morning, you’ll get acquainted and learn how to set up a hive. After lunch, experts will discuss safe strategies for keeping honey bees in community gardens, backyards, and on rooftops — and the challenges faced in urban environments.

At the follow-up in May, the bees wake from hibernation — and you’ll don a veil and gloves and get hands on: filling jars with honey, making candles, baking fruitcakes, and rubbing nectar everywhere.

More importantly, you’ll be providing the ecosystem with living space for those worker bees. Which is totally necessary and totally awesome.

But no need to drone on.

Wave Hill, 675 West 252nd Street, at Independence Avenue (718-549-3200 or wavehill.org). Urban Beekeeping, March 8. Morning session, 9:30 a.m.-noon; afternoon session, 1-4 p.m. To register, call 718-549-3200 ext. 305.