Rooftop Beekeeping with the Bee Buddies in Chicago (S6, E17)

Beekeeping Today Podcast

On today's episode, guest cohost Becky Masterman, PhD, joins Jeff to talk with Al Renslow, who lives at a Chicago senior living community, The Admiral at the Lake. Al, a retired schoolteacher turned beekeeper, has assembled a corp of like-minded ‘bee-lievers’, who refer to themselves as The Admiral Bee Buddies. Al developed this hobby as a passion project, a way to learn new skills and contribute to the environment. As a bonus, he now has an outlet that benefits his mental well-being!

Al launched The Admiral’s beekeeping program in 2019 based on his belief that we must be good stewards of the environment. With the support of The Admiral community, he began dedicating time to the start-up. Through his own research, he taught himself how to manage his bees and, in the process, discovered how unique the colony’s urban honey is. City bees create exquisite-tasting honey due to the diverse native plants, and this unique honey can only be found within The Admiral's campus. The Admiral Bee Buddies have expanded over the years and now there are eight residents helping maintain the bees. Last season, over 400 bottles of urban honey were harvested, bottled, labeled and distributed with the help of Admiral community members who reside in the memory care unit, who volunteered to package the Bee Buddies’ prized possession.

The Bee Buddies rooftop program is a boost to everyone at The Admiral, whether they are helping manage the bees or just share in the sweet rewards.

We hope you enjoy listening to their story. Thank you!

Leave comments and questions in the Comments Section of the episode's website.

Links and websites mentioned in this podcast:

• The Admiral at the Lake - https://admiral.kendal.org/
• The Admiral in the News - https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/the-admirals-bees-are-picking-up-the-slack/
• Honey Bee Obscura - https://www.honeybeeobscura.com

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Betterbee is the presensting sponsor of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Betterbee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, Betterbee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global offers a variety of standard and custom patties. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode!

Thanks to Strong Microbials for their support of Beekeeping Today Podcast. Find out more about heir line of probiotics in our Season 3, Episode 12 episode and from their website: https://www.strongmicrobials.com

Thanks for Northern Bee Books for their support. Northern Bee Books is the publisher of bee books available worldwide from their website or from Amazon and bookstores everywhere. They are also the publishers of The Beekeepers Quarterly and Natural Bee Husbandry.

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We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments in the show notes of this episode or: [e-mail]

Thank you for listening!

Podcast music: Be Strong by Young Presidents; Epilogue by Musicalman; Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus; A Fresh New Start by Pete Morse; Wedding Day by Boomer; Original guitar background instrumental by Jeff Ott

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