In Brussels, beekeepers are raising to balance between their colonies and native pollinators
n a warm morning in the grounds of a private estate in one of Brussels’ greenest communes, a dozen aspiring beekeepers in white protective suits are gathering around rows of wooden hives.
The setting is Anjou farm in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, where every other Sunday around 60 students attend a two-year course run by the Brussels Royal Society of Apiculture, known by its French acronym SRABE.
The volunteers running the course combine lessons with practical work in the apiary. They are not trying to produce the next generation of commercial honey farmers, but train responsible urban beekeepers.
The students come from Brussels and its surroundings and from all walks of life: artists, bankers, secretaries and retirees. Today, they are about to harvest honey for the first and final time this year.
