Urban Beekeeping in Los Angeles

Braulio Mena, beekeeper at Erika J. Glazer Community Gardens in West Adams

Saving Bees One Beehive at a Time

Early on a Sunday morning we met our resident beekeeper, Braulio Mena, at our Erika J. Glazer Community Gardens in West Adams. He’s agreed to talk us through how he got started and how he maintains his bees.
 
When we arrive he is already with the hive, tucked into the back of the garden beds with some mesh barrier blocking its view. He lets us know that the hive is registered with the Department of Agriculture which is a nominal $10 annual fee and there are a few requirements to owning a hive, of which some of the most pertinent are: 1) a natural vegetative or fabricated barrier of at least 6’ or placing the hive 8’ above ground to direct the bees up when leaving the hive, 2) a water source provided to the bees to direct them away from other urban sources such as swimming pools or water hoses, etc., and 3) in a residential space, only keeping hives in backyards or in spaces like our Erika J. Glazer gardens.
 
Braulio's love of bees and beekeeping started when he watched a documentary that spelled out the disastrous situation for bees about 5 years ago. He began learning about beekeeping from the Long Beach Beekeepers Association and with a bit of training found himself volunteering to remove, rescue and hopefully rehome beehives. However, the struggles to rehome became to disheartening for this bee lover. So when Braulio had a chance to rehome a rescued beehive in our Erika Glazer Gardens, he jumped at it. 

Read more about Braulio and the developments of Urban Beekeeping here in Los Angeles.