Approximately 40,000 bees now call Alexandra Community Garden home, as Uruuruwhenua Hauora has set up two beehives to produce honey for whanau at Alexandra’s Community Garden on Dunstan Road.

The initiative is part of the Kōanga Kai project which is to establish kai to help whānau who are struggling, and to help teach people how to grow kai.

Hear Uruuruwhenua whānau ora navigator Alva Bennett talk about the project here.

Each hive is looked after with a monthly visit from beekeeper Barna Szcos, from Tiaki Bees, a Wānaka based company which rents hives to customers.

Those using the service range from larger commercial orchards (growing cherries and apricots) and farms, to families who want to enjoy homemade honey. 

The hives installed on Thursday (August 4) weigh about 30 kgs each at this time of year.

Bees on the move; they’ve come from Wānaka to Alexandra’s Community Garden. The bees range around 2-3km from their hive using ‘a type of GPS’.

The bees inside at this time of year are not especially active, but the numbers will build up to be around 60,000 bees per hive if they do well.

Barna handcrafts the hives from untreated pine and can make about ten per week.

He said the quantity of honey they produce varies.

“A hive can produce no surplus, or up to 30 kgs per season.”

For the Alexandra Community Garden hives he anticipates around 18 kg of honey per hive, per year. 

“That’s around 100 jars of honey [for whānau].”

Barna explained each hive “has its own personality” because of the queen or conditions inside.

Once the bees are settled they always find their way back home, due to their innate GPS and the pheromone smell of their queen. 

Barna will return to treat for Varroa mite in spring and replace each queen bee every three years or so. 

For more on Tiaki Bees visit, for more on Uruuruwhenua visit.

Eden Garden, the Alexandra Community Garden run by Salvation Army is having its planting day on Saturday October 15, from 10am. 

Volunteers are needed to help out for the morning. Get in touch with them on 03 448 9436 for information.