Educational Pollinators’ Garden in Berlin

We are converting a run-down 68m2 plot into a thriving pollinators’ garden, where neighbors and visitors (especially kids) can learn about the small world of pollinators. Plants — berries, fruit trees, flowers that bloom February–November, herbs, legumes, and vegetables — are chosen based on their ability to provide nectar, pollen, and possible shelter too.

Contact us if you, your kids, or a school group wants to visit in Moabit.

BEES, DREAMS & MEDICINE

In partnership with The College of the Melissae: Center for Sacred Beekeeping, we are curating, producing, and moderating the online BEES, DREAMS & MEDICINE speakers series (in its second year), which features 10 luminaries from diverse fields — apitherapy, environmental economics, activism, sacred healing, conservation, rewilding, and more — who will share stories of personal growth, community-building, insights, and inspiration.

Zeidlerei Mini-Workshops

In collaboration with members of Mellifera Regionalgruppe Berlin, we organized a couple of informal weekend-long workshops to train participants in the centuries-old craft of Zeidlerei (“tree beekeeping” in German). By carving out hollows in logs, which are then installed in trees or erected upon stilts, bees are provided habitats that more naturally simulate the homes in which they commonly lived millennia ago. Learn more about Zeidlerei at Apis Arborea and Natural Beekeeping Trust.

Speaking at Conferences

Our founder, Steve Rogenstein, has spoken all over the world about various apicultural subjects: the importance of bees, urban beekeeping in New York and Berlin, how to organize a honey festival, citizen-science projects, and more.

He would be available to speak at your event too. Contact us.

ADVOCACY

Berlin Declaration on
Wild Western Honey Bee Conservation in Europe

Spearheaded by Drs. Przemysław Nawrocki and Thomas Seeley, the Berlin Declaration summarizes the overarching philosophy of the Learning from the Bees | Berlin 2019 conference and outlines urgent next steps that we can take on behalf of the well-being of Apis mellifera. Learn more and become a signatory.

EVENTS

We believe that learning about bees is best experienced through multiple senses. We have organized conferences, honey festivals, honey tastings, cooking classes, apiary visits, and interactive workshops to bring the public closer to the wondrous world of bees. We can also bring these experiences to your school, community center, and/or workplace.

Visit our Events page for a listing of future activities, and past ones too.

ART

SoulSong for the Bees

During BOOM Festival 2022, we reencountered two beautiful humans, Lex Empress and Gilian Baracs, who are doubly blessed with a gift to improvisationally channel customized “soul songs” for whoever sits in front of them. Independently they receive inputs — Lex the lyrics, Gilian the melody — and together they synchronize songs that often elicit spontaneous sobs from the crowd assembled around them. Rather than receive one personally, Steve dedicated his moment to the bees, an unusual request that they willingly accepted. Listen below to the bees’ magical message, as communicated through these luminescent bee-ings. For more about Lex Empress, visit her Linktree.

Be Like A Bee

Along our travels we met Sapphire, a Persian rapper, unjustly and interminably waylaid for years in Istanbul while awaiting asylum in the United States. He stays buoyantly positive through songwriting and staying politically and spiritually connected to his homeland, despite fleeing persecution. After introducing him to the fascinating world of bees, he composed this song, part-homage to our winged friends, but all parts in solidarity with women’s rights in Iran. Follow his Instagram.