West Loop Bee Swarm Rescue

Never discount the value of Inspiration. You never know how it will change your life's direction.

In a #disORDer Honey Tasting session in April 2014, Jana Kinsman, founder of Bike a Bee shared her passion for Honey Bees. We had met for the first time a few weeks earlier, at #ORDCamp.

She had inspired me to learn more and while surfing that night, I found an upcoming "Build Your Own Bee Hive" Class at Garfield Park Conservatory being taught by Naaman Gambill, who headed Garfield's Bee program.

The course cost $300 and was sold out, but I decided to show up that Sunday, anyway. I asked Naaman if I could sit in. He had sprained his ankle that morning and agreed on condition that I help teach the class. Talk about learning by jumping right in!

I must have done OK, because I earned an invite from him and Paul Nickerson to join them after class to pick up 60 pounds of bees from Apple Blossom Honey Farm in Indiana, about 3 hours away. What an experience!

After surviving the road trip, Naaman invited me to help install the bees in Garfield's beehives the next day. When I told him I didn't have any beekeeping equipment, he said I wouldn't need any. Unprotected.

That night I listened to the sound of beehives for hours to desensitize my flight instinct.

On Monday we were shaking 60,000 bees out of each package, encouraging them to join their Queen in the hive. There were bees everywhere. Fear was replaced with wonder. It was the first time I was ever pooped on by a bee. Like a little yellow dot of paint, if you're curious.

A few weeks after that, I secured rooftop space at 1140 W. Madison thanks to Steven Greenberg and Red Sky Capital, then Naaman, Paul and I set to work setting up two beehives.

West Loop Honey was born.

I officially became an Illinois Registered Beekeeper. Together with Paul, Emily Dougherty, and many volunteers that helped as needed, we harvested hundreds of pounds of honey.

We packaged West Loop Honey in small 1.5 oz jars, and calculated that it would take 144 bees, or one bee eight years, to make that little bit of honey. That made folks appreciate this special gift from nature, even more.

We gave the honey away to increase awareness and interest in bees at events like Christina Pei's Mini Maker Faire, and even staged a honey harvest at #ORDCamp. Folks asked a lot of questions and wanted to help.

#BeeSchool was born.

Some of the burr honeycomb harvested from the hive, became the subject of the "Last Hologram" recorded at the historic Museum of Holography, by Kaitlyn McQuaid.

All this training and experience came together when Brian W. Fitzpatrick called to let me know about a Honey Bee Swarm in a tree by the The Aviary, a swanky West Loop cocktail lounge owned and run by Nick Kokonas and Chef Grant Achatz, located near the Chicago Transit Authority's Morgan L Station at Fulton Market.

That set into motion a sequence of events that culminated in the rescue of the Aviary Hive, which was relocated to the The Hive: Chicago's Beekeeping Supply Store.

While the original Aviary Hive didn't survive the winter, five Queens were bred from it, producing five more hives of the Aviary Strain. We're hopeful that they'll produce enough honey this season to be mixed into craft cocktails and culinary creations by Chef Achatz, completing the circle of life.

Never discount the value of Inspiration. You never know how it will change your life's direction.

True West Loop

Видео West Loop Bee Swarm Rescue канала Moshe Tamssot