Oak Park Village Clerk issued the following announcement on July 27.
The buzz of nectar-gathering activity that began nearly two years ago at the Public Works Center has come to Village Hall with two honeybee hives on the small outdoor balcony above the south entrance at 123 Madison St.
The two hives at Village Hall eventually will be home to about 90,000 hard-working honeybees, each playing a crucial role as pollinators for the plants that produce a third of the American diet.
The Village Hall hives are proving to be just as active as the hives set up about two years ago on the Public Works Center’s green roof, which produced more than 120 pounds of honey last season.
Of course, the hives at the Public Works Center and Village Hall aren’t just about honey. With populations of these critical pollinators on the decline, the Village's goal is to create awareness and promote a healthy environment for bees that can benefit local gardeners.
Visitors should not fear the docile pollinators. Officials say the bees live only to collect pollen and make honey and aren’t interested in coming inside Village Hall.
Oak Park property owners can establish up to two honeybee colonies as long as the apiaries meet specific Village code requirements. The Health Department has issued six licenses for residential beekeeping, which is regulated under Chapter 20, Article 11 of the Village Code.
Original source can be found here.
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