Apiary

Queens County Farm’s apiary houses 8 honeybee hives, with 7 additional hives to be added over the course of the next year. This continues a 40+ year history of beekeeping at Queens County Farm.

The apiary increases the rate of pollination at the farm and surrounding area and builds the farm’s production of honey to about 1,000 pounds per year in partnership with beekeeper Kathy Scalzo of Backyard Bees.

Queens County Farm has introduced a new series of free apiary talks, plus ticketed programming for classes that include the history of The Bees Knees, discussions on what is going on in the hives at any given moment during a particular season, and an interactive Honey Harvesting workshop where participants can assist in the collection of honey from our hives!

Native bee and honey bee populations have experienced declines in recent years due to climate change, development, pesticides, and other human activities. Bees are fundamental to our food system, with approximately ⅓ of food crops grown in the US reliant on their pollination. Queens County Farm provides an important habitat to support these extraordinary insects.

Queens Farm’s Apiary and Pollinator Programs were made possible, in part, by a generous donation from Richmond County Savings Foundation and Clif Bar Family Foundation.