Walking by Yens Pederson’s yard, it’s easy to miss the approximately 8,000 bees that call it home.
His hive is small and inconspicuous. Last year it produced more than 60 pounds of honey.
“It’s just been really exploding the number of people interested in beekeeping in the last few years,” Pederson, president of the Regina Bee Club, said.
Pederson grew up on a bee farm near North Battleford, so his small Regina hive is strictly a hobby.
Unlike chickens or other livestock, there aren’t any bylaws regulating beekeeping in Regina’s city limits.
However, there are provincial laws all beekeepers – rural or urban – need to follow. All beekeepers have to register with the Ministry of Agriculture.
“We use that information strictly for bee health issues,” Geoff Wilson, the provincial apiculture specialist, said over the phone. Wilson is the only bee expert in the province and he’s based in Prince Albert.
There are also provincial laws governing how to properly feed bees and where beekeepers source imported bees.
Food Regina is a local group looking to improve food security in the Queen City. They received a grant from the University of Regina’s community research unit to examine the urban agriculture practices in the city and compare them to other municipalities.
“We can look at a variety of different municipalities are doing so we can take some really good solid recommendations for policies to the city and hopefully work with them to develop some compressive policies,” Food Regina Member Nikko Snyder said.
And while Snyder said she’s happy there aren’t any rules against beekeeping in Regina, she said she’d like to see the city have a good policy to ensure the health of any kept hives in city limits.
The Regina Bee Club is teaming up with the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association and the Ministry of Agriculture for a beginner’s beekeeping workshop in Regina on May 28 to 29.
