Honeybees tending brood in a natural hive

Natural urban beekeeping

A better city for bees

Helping honeybees thrive through natural care, healthier habitats and a more thoughtful relationship with the living world.

Discover our mission Why natural beekeeping?

London's Buzzing

Bees are part of our everyday life

Bees give us nutritious products such as royal jelly, propolis, pollen and honey. More importantly, they are essential pollinators. Many wild plants and commercial crops rely on insect pollination to grow fruit and reproduce.

Honeybees help sustain ecosystems, plant diversity and food production. Their worldwide decline is also a warning that the natural world is out of balance. London's Buzzing was created to help redress that balance.

A honeybee resting safely in a person's hand

A bee in the hand

A gentler approach

Work with nature, not against it

If we want to save honeybees, we need to change our attitudes towards them. Bees are not “killer insects”, and other pollinators are not pests simply because they share our spaces.

Natural beekeeping looks for holistic ways for honeybees to coexist with challenges such as the varroa mite. It also asks us to reconsider breeding, feeding and handling practices that can weaken colonies.

Healthy bees need good forage, appropriate homes and attentive stewardship. The aim is resilient colonies—not maximum extraction.

The sanctuary idea

Make room for pollinators

London's Buzzing set out to promote sustainable urban bee care through sanctuaries, community learning and hive-placement programmes.

Habitat

Plant diverse, pesticide-free forage and preserve nesting places across gardens, rooftops and community spaces.

Natural care

Keep bees with close observation, minimal disruption and the long-term health of the colony as the priority.

Community

Share practical knowledge so homes, schools, organisations and growers can take meaningful action for bees.

Learn and participate

Our programmes

Explore practical ways to learn about honeybees, support healthy colonies and create more welcoming habitats for pollinators.

The Sacred Honeybee

Explore the honeybee's ecological and cultural importance.

Natural Beekeeping Courses

Learn about bee-centred, natural hive care.

Swarms

Understand swarms and responsible bee care.

Sponsor a Hive

Support bee habitats and responsible hive stewardship.

Corporate

A programme area for organisations interested in supporting urban beekeeping.

Beehive Placement

The original menu offered information about placing hives in situ.

Start a Hive

A dedicated entry point for prospective hive hosts and new beekeepers.

Beehive Maintenance

Ongoing support focused on colony wellbeing and hive care.

Package Bees

Information for beekeepers considering package bees.

Honey

Learn about honey, harvesting and leaving enough for the colony.

Workshops

The archive listed practical workshops alongside its natural beekeeping courses.

Upcoming Seminars

Talks and learning opportunities for bee-friendly communities.

Small insect, enormous impact

Did you know?

Remarkable facts preserved from the original London's Buzzing website.

80 mgA worker bee weighs around 80 mg and can carry almost its own weight in nectar.
2,500At the height of summer, a queen may lay up to 2,500 eggs in a day.
100mThe oldest known fossil bee is about 100 million years old.
One lifeA worker produces only a small fraction of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.
A voteScout bees collectively choose new nest sites through movement, signalling and consensus.
A tiny brainA bee's brain is about the size of a sesame seed, yet it can learn, remember and navigate.