Beekeepers Seek Boston Code Changes to Help Declining Honeybee Population

If you're ever looking for Val Mayo, chances are you'll find her in her element — attending to her beehives in her backyard in Boston's Hyde Park neighborhood.

"You can bee-keep for a long time, and you learn something every day," said Mayo.

For Mayo, it's more than just a hobby.

"For me, it's about — it's about the bees," she said.

A duty — of sorts — to continue a tradition that started with her family members in Africa.

"A long family history of caring for the environment, and that's what was instilled in me," she noted.

Mayo has inspired some of her neighbors to take up beekeeping, and for years, they were minding their own beeswax, unaware they weren't supposed to.

"Most of the city of Boston, beekeeping is a forbidden use under the zoning code," said Boston City Councilor-at-Large Ruthzee Louijeune.

She spoke at a city council meeting Wednesday advocating for beekeepers.

"There are people and institutions here in Boston that are beekeeping, and we need to make it easier to do that," Louijeune told the council.

Mayo and others approached Louijeune, who then brought forward a proposal to change the current rules.

The widely reported decline of the world bee population is one of the reasons that resonated with Louijeune.

"They play a critical role in our food system," she said. "They pollinate over 85 different crops and contribute to 35% of the global food production. When we think about the positive environmental benefits of beekeeping, it's something that we do want to encourage subject to appropriate regulation and fencing."

Some of the measures being considered include limiting hives to three per household and keeping hives at a certain distance from neighbors; rules to be debated at a later date before any new regulation is enacted.

"We have to take care of what we have because if we destroy this planet, we have nowhere else to go," said Mayo.

She believes the bees are key to a sustainable life, while the honey is a sweet bonus.

"When it's all said and done, and I'm gone, I hope that I've done a little bit to make things a little better," she said.