Winnipeg reviews urban beekeeping

The City of Winnipeg is being asked to allow urban beekeeping.

Jim Campbell of the Manitoba Beekeepers Association said the organization supports a change in the bylaw that currently prohibits urban apiaries.

The city is to review the bylaw next week.

As more people are growing their own gardens within city limits, more bees are needed for pollination, he said. "People are looking for pollinators. How can we make sure that we have something to help grow cucumbers, the melons, the cantaloupes. Those kind of produce?"

As for public safety, Campbell says the city could require beekeepers to take courses on how to manage bees within the city.

He said beekeepers have seen major declines the bee population, something that has an impact on all Manitobans rural and urban. "Over the last couple of years, we have had some dramatic changes. And there's been about an average of 30 per cent loss across the province. And we are finding that's not going to be sustainable and we need to be doing something different."