About 

  • History
    Urban Beekeeping in San Francisco

    With an influx of interest in bees, rooftops and backyards alike have become hot-spots for “Urban Beekeeping.” This San Francisco subculture is compiled of a complex, interconnected group of people who are all passionate about what they do and what they believe in. 

  • Culture
    The BEEKEEPERS & Their Girls

    Organizations such as The San Francisco Beekeepers Association and Urban Bee SF are part of a tight-knit community and subculture. Love for honey and nature are two reasons people choose to keep bees, but also because honeybees are currently in decline. "The girls," as many beekeepers call them, are too important to our environment not to help. Beekeepers are doing all they can to slow the decline. 

  • Method
    The Future Of Urban BeeKeeping

    Although complaints from neighbors come fairly often, Beekeepers in San Francisco are adamant that the hobby will be here to stay. As more bee-friendly cities pop up around the country, It looks as though urban beekeeping will continue to grow and honeybees' chances of survival will be greater.

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a closer look at bee cities 

Data shows that the hobby of beekeeping has increased in the Bay Area, and has also gained popularity in other cities around the country.  According to Beecityusa.com, there are currently 36 cities in the United States that are "bee friendly." Majority are in the state of North Carolina, with 8 total. California has two officially proclaimed bee-friendly cities, including San Francisco.

San Francisco's Bee Community

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Joe Dellert
Local Business Owner

A custom picture-framer and business-owner in the Sunset District, Dellert has been an active urban backyard-beekeeper for 3 years. He initially bought bees for his daughter, but after getting to know them and doing endless research, his interest in and care of them has expanded.

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Gigi Trabant
Retired

The president of the San Francisco Beekeeper’s Association, Trabant began beekeeping the day she retired. She’s a proponent of pollination, and has brung her bees'  honey to every dinner celebration since. 

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Nekeya & abdul Haqq-Khalifa
Oakland School Teachers

These two Oakland school teachers are husband and wife, and new to the beekeeping community. They have recently begun taking beekeeping classes and plan to hopefully open their own hives during the beginning of 2017. 

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Katy Tang
San Francisco Supervisor, District 4

As Sunset District Supervisor, Tang played a large role in designating San Francisco as a “Bee City.” Tang is doing her part to promote pollination, fight against pesticide use, and break up the “concrete-jungle” city with bee-friendly front yards.

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Robert MacKimmie
Professional Beekeeper

A qualified SF beekeeper of 20 years, MacKimmie emphasizes the importance of understanding bees on a scientific, biological level. He provides educational training for beekeepers and organizations around the Bay Area.

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andrea
San Francisco Resident

A 15-year resident of San Francisco, Andrea is the community-opponent against certain aspects of urban beekeeping. While allergies and bee stings are concerns, Andrea primarily emphasizes and focuses on the negative effects of bee poop.

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Aaron yu & meredith May
Community Garden Beekeepers

Aaron and Meredith are in charge of a community bee hives at the Connecticut Friendship Garden. Both Yu and May found beekeeping as children, Yu from a book as a teen and May from her grandfather. As a  journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle, May even put apiaries on top of the downtown building. 

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JOHN HAFERNIK
San Francisco State Biology Professor

A professor of biology, Hafernik is a figure in the bee community best known for accidentally discovering “zombie bees” on the San Francis+co State University campus back in 2008. Hafernik says he encourages urban beekeeping and planting bee-friendly backyards.

Videos

  Why bees are
    important

To many San Franciscans, bees are more than just small insects with a knack for stinging - they are an important member of our complex universe. Whether it be someone having coffee with them in the mornings, maintaining a hive in a backyard, or appreciating them on a theological level, bees leave a big impact on our big city.

   Why urban
beekeeping can
  be a problem

All creatures poop - including bees. To some, this is the primary concern with urban beekeeping. To others, it is pesticide use and colony collapse. Regardless of what the individual issue may be, it is understood that urban beekeeping is not always sunshine, rainbows, and honey. 

 The Future of
 Beekeeping in
 San Francisco 

The future of San Francisco’s urban beekeeping community is unknown and ongoing. Registering hives is a current area of contrition and contemplation that may or may not be resolved in the near future. But most agree that, regardless of the conflicts, urban beekeeping is here to stay.