Be(e)ing Involved – Urban Beekeeping as a Vibrant Environmental and Cultural Movement in British Metropolitan Communities
Be(e)ing Involved – Urban Beekeeping as a Vibrant Environmental and Cultural Movement in British Metropolitan Communities

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses urban beekeeping as one of the manifestations of environmentalism and a vibrant cultural movement which, like elsewhere in Western Europe and America, has developed in British urban communities in the last two decades. The marked rise of individual and institutional interest in bee stewardship in large urban centres is attributed to the alarming media reports about the rapid decline of honeybees caused by Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), climate change, and pesticide use. The threat has spawned a large-scale information campaign about the importance of these and other pollinators to the ecosystem and resulted in individual and systemic endeavours to protect the bee and increase the number of existing colonies by installing beehives not only in rural areas but also in towns and cities as part of a broader trend to protect biodiversity in the urban environment. It is argued that because of its environmental, historical, and cultural connotations, contemporary beekeeping has the potential to be a significant cultural movement and an essential instrument in forging identity and community. It channels the individual’s inherent need to belong to, feel, and be part of a group, and responds to the growing ecological awareness of British urban residents. In large, multicultural, atomistic urban populations, involvement in the apicultural movement helps develop a sense of community of like-minded individuals who share a common value system and environmental consciousness as identity markers.

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