Watch CBS News

Urban Beekeeping Creating A Buzz In Yolo County

DAVIS (CBS13) — A new trend in urban living is creating quite a buzz in Yolo County.

A Davis nonprofit called Circle Of Bees is trying to get hives moved from open fields to backyards.

It's hands-on, environmentally friendly and requires someone who doesn't flinch at the thought of being stung.

"This is kind of like the milkman of the modern age," said Christian Coulon who runs Circle of Bees. "It's incredibly beneficial to any sort of vegetable or flower or anything that grows in the city, fruit trees, to have a pollinator to have bees in the city."

Once a month, the 39-year-old hops in his truck to make sure nature's grocery store is delivering to his nearly 40 customers.

Brett Stone has been a year-long customer and hobbyist and he says his yard has flourished with his backyard hive. While he says there may have been an initial yikes factor with his wife, the ultimate sweet perk is that the nonprofit shares its honey harvest with its hive hosts.

But if you have children or pets, is urban beekeeping really safe?

"Bees are no more dangerous than dogs," Coulon said. "As a matter of fact, they're probably mess dangerous."

While the trend is not recommended for those with an allergy to bees. Stone is encouraging others to incorporate the progressive pollinators into their yards, because as he's found, neighbors who beekeep together, bond together.

"It's fun having that and being able to share our interest and concerns so we do that a lot of talking about how our bees are doing and how we can improve things," he said.

One thing to keep in mind, beekeeping laws can vary by ZIP code, so be sure to check with your particular county to see what the rules and regulations are.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.