An instruction manual for change, Urban Beekeeping explores how we can adapt urban spaces to create a more sustainable future, both for bees and for ourselves.

Urban beekeeping has become a booming pastime in cities throughout the world. But why just fit bees into our cities, when we could reshape our cities to fit them?

This guide from beekeeping expert Cormac Farrell takes readers through the process of creating a thriving urban hive, covering topics including:

• The various bee species, and how to determine which will thrive in your space.
• Setting up your apiary.
• Planting to feed your bees.
• The different types of hive and how best to utilise them.
• Connecting with your bees and managing the hive.

Keen beekeepers, environmentally conscious gardeners and even urban planners will find a wealth of knowledge on how to create local green spaces where nature can thrive. From community gardens to rooftop apiaries, cities contain vast potential for sustainable food production. Urban Beekeeping explores how – and why – we should tap into this potential and manage bees for beauty, food, and the local environment.

This is more than a manual for beekeepers and gardeners who want to go beyond their backyard; it is a guide to changing the whole concept of our cities, to make them places where we produce quality food locally and create spaces for native species.

Cormac Farrell is an environmental scientist and beekeeper, best known as the Head Beekeeper for the Australian Parliament. He manages several apiaries throughout Canberra, including training apiaries, organic orchards and tall rooftop apiaries, creating unique food experiences that educate and inspire, pushing the boundaries of what cities can produce.

In addition to running his own apiaries, Cormac is the training manager for Canberra Region Beekeeper, where in an average year he trains over one hundred new beekeepers. He also provides beekeeping support to multiple international embassies, and has assisted several governments in developing pollinator planting guides for their urban forests, improving the function of street trees, parks and gardens.

Foreword
1 Bees in the city: Subverting the concrete jungle
2 Meet the bees: Native bees and honeybees
3 Getting started: Moving out beyond the backyard
4 A place to bee at home: Where to keep your apiary
5 Planting for bees: Changing the urban landscape
6 Hive types: Try something a little different
7 Hive management: Connecting with your bees
8 Keeping a healthy hive: First steps to disease prevention
9 What the hell is that? The pests and diseases of honeybees
10 Swarm catching for fun and profit: Different methods to bag your bees
11 It’s not about the honey: Creating visitor experiences and more
Endnotes
References
Index

Tanya Ha, environmental advocate and science journalist
“Beeautiful! Delightful and essential reading for the beginner and advanced bee lover alike. Cormac Farrell’s enthusiasm, intelligence, thoughtfulness and warmth infuse every page. This is not just a book about bees. Woven through the buzz about our honey-making friends is an underlying message about our relationship with nature and our responsibility to shape a future we can share with all living things.”

Stuart Anderson, co-inventor of the Flow Hive
‘This is a thorough, informative and delightful book. Open to any page and you’ll find fascinating stories, intriguing bee-facts and beautiful pictures grounded in Cormac’s broad experience and deep knowledge.’