Inuvik family buzzing about sweet new hobby

An Inuvik family is buzzing about their sweet new hobby – honeybee farming.

Brenden Cathers and his daughter, Callie Cathers, installed two honeybee hives on their front porch this week.

Currently, they have between 10,000 and 15,000 bees housed in the hives, but once they're developed, there will be 45,000 to 50,000 bees busy making honey in Inuvik.

"I started in Yellowknife last year with Matt Vincent. We did a honey harvest with him, and I've been interested ever since, and decided I wanted a few hives of my own up here," said Cathers.

"I don't think anybody's had bees here before, that I'm aware of, so we'll see how it goes."

Cathers said it is a hobby that he and his daughter enjoy working on together.

"There's quite a bit of science to it, and it just gets more interesting as you go," he said. "My daughter, Callie, is right into it too. She's had some practice with them down in Yellowknife too."

Callie said one of the hives is hers, and she named her hive's queen bee Kiwi.

Cathers said he is hoping to make fireweed honey because it is an abundant source of pollen in this area in the fall.

"Fireweed honey might be one of the most sought-after honeys, flavour-wise, and we have an abundance of it here in the fall time, so that's what we're hoping to do, is have a bunch of fireweed honey," he said. "Normally people don't harvest off of their first year of bees, you try to let them establish themselves and store all of the honey they can for their first winter. We're supplementing to try and boost them along, so we may try and harvest a little bit."

Cathers said they are planning to plant a small flower garden in front of their porch for the bees, but the bees will pollinate flowers all over town.

"People are starting to put flowers outside now, and these bees travel up to seven kilometres, so they pretty much cover the entire town," he said. "They'll be pollinating everybody's vegetables and flowers."

For those who have concerns about being stung by honeybees, Cathers says not to worry.

"They're pretty docile. If you're not bugging them, they won't really bother you," he said. "They don't sting unless they're being threatened."

Cathers said he has one request for Inuvik residents to help him out with his new beehives.

"Don't cut down your dandelions," he said. "They're not weeds – they're the first source of nectar for bees."