Bees are among the most sensitive inhabitants of any environment. Where there are healthy bees, there is clean nature, diverse vegetation and enough flowers throughout the season. So when an apiary was set up in Ecopark Vaya in 2019, it was not only an economic step but a conservation one.
The apiary was placed in a quiet spot amid the vegetation of the ecopark. The bees find forage in the willows and other early-flowering trees in spring, in the fruit trees planted for the birds, in the wildflower meadows in summer and in the water-loving vegetation around the ponds. The diverse and natural environment of the ecopark gives them what they find less and less often in intensively farmed land.
The apiary is kept in an ecological way – with minimal interference in the life of the colonies and respect for their natural rhythms. The aim is not maximum yield but healthy bees to pollinate the plants of the ecopark and its surroundings.
The role of bees in the ecosystem is enormous. They pollinate the fruit trees, the wild shrubs and the herbaceous plants, and on this depends the supply of fruit and seeds – food for birds and small mammals. The apiary at Vaya is a small link, but many others depend on it.
The apiary also has an educational role – visitors to the ecopark can get to know the life of bees and ecological beekeeping up close. For many children it is their first encounter with a real hive.
The apiary was created with our own funds and labour. It is part of Ecopark Vaya’s philosophy that protecting nature and using it wisely can go hand in hand.
The arrival of the apiary also brought something we had not planned – bee-eaters, some of the most beautiful birds in Europe, appeared in the ecopark. But that is another story.
Project summary
Project: Organic apiary
Year: 2019
Location: Ecopark Vaya
Activity: creating and maintaining an apiary on ecological principles, pollination of the ecopark’s vegetation, educational visits
Funding: own funds and volunteer work
Status: completed, ongoing
Photo: snap wander / Unsplash