Starting from his Georgetown rooftop, Miller has expanded his love of beekeeping into the DC Honeybees nonprofit and has helped people create 30 hives in the District. So why is it important to have hives in the city?
There’s really no downside. They pollinate all the important plants, including vegetables, nuts and fruits to help your backyard gardens. They produce the byproduct of honey, which is an exceptionally delicious product that can also help with allergy symptoms. And there’s the problem with bees. The populations have collapsed in the past four years due to colony collapse disorder. By keeping bees in the urban environment, we help support the bee population, as well as act as a laboratory for new strains of bees that are resistant to the maladies that affect the population.
How did you get involved in doing this?
I’m a real estate development professional by background and I’ve built some of the larger mixed-use buildings and developments here in D.C. … But when the market fell on its face in 2008, there really wasn’t much to do with my skill set. As a foodie I started to grow my own, or trying to grow my own, food in my modest plot in Georgetown and realized I wasn’t having as many fruits on them as I would like. So I started to understand more about pollinators and pollinating and bought myself a beehive. There seems to be a strong connection with buying a beehive and becoming addicted to the hobby. … And I thought it might be fun for other people to try it out. As an addict, you need people to hang out with you and talk about your addiction.
Has your garden improved since you’ve had the bees?
It has. This will be the first season to really see how it’s going to do because the bees we purchased didn’t happen until last July. But we’ve got tomatoes in our backyard that are already starting to fruit, and I can only think that that increased yield is due to the activity we have in our backyard.
– Kytja Weir
