Slow Food Beekeeping Festival on June 7

Samples of wild honey on artisan cheese were offered at a past Honeybee Festival on backyard beekeeping.
Samples of wild honey on artisan cheese were offered at a past Honeybee Festival on backyard beekeeping.

If you’ve considered backyard beekeeping for a hobby, here’s a sweet chance to learn how to do it.  Slow Food Utah is hosting its 4th annual Honeybee Festival Saturday, June 7, from 1 – 5 p.m. at the Sorensen Unity Center, 1383 S. 800 West, Salt Lake City.

I attended one of these a couple of years ago for a Deseret News story, and there were several workshops on backyard bee-keeping, crafts and games for the kids, tastings of local honey and honey products, and purveyors with books and equipment for getting started with beekeeping. While there, I bought several jars of honey from local beekeepers, and

The Bees Brothers, young beekeepers from Logan, at a past Slow Food Honeybee Festival.
The Bees Brothers, young beekeepers from Logan, at a past Slow Food Honeybee Festival.

some wonderful honey lip gloss from the Bees Brothers of Logan.

Honey bees are the unsung heroes of the world’s supply, and their declining numbers are a cause for concern.The world’s food supply depends heavily on pollination provided by bees — fruit and nut trees, melons, vegetables, and field crops such as alfalfa. This is why Slow Food Utah, which supports local, sustainable foods, is encouraging people to become backyard beekeepers.According to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures, the number of managed honey beehives is half of what it was in the 1950s. Beginning in 2006, beekeepers began reporting losses of 30-90 percent of their hives. This mysterious phenomenon has been termed Colony Collapse Disorder, where worker bees abruptly disappear from their hives.

People can help out the bee population by keeping their own backyard hives, or by planting native plants that are good sources of nectar or pollen for bees to feed on.

Backyard beekeeping gained popularity a few years ago with the tough economy and back-to-nature movement that also spurred people to plant gardens, home-can and raise chickens.

Backyard beekeepers say they do it for the wonderful honey and because it’s interesting and fun.

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