Teaching Beehive

Our teaching beehive at the Eastside Branch provides plenty of learning opportunities. Enjoy watching the bees at work, exploring our nature space, and programs and workshops about environmental stewardship.

A close up of a slat full of bees and honey from the beehive at the Eastside Branch
Beekeeper Dave - from Backed by Bees - helps a child in a bee suit hold up a frame of honey bees.

Our Hive

We have two beehives at our Eastside Branch, adopted in partnership with Backed by Bees, a local beekeeping and mead‑making company dedicated to learning from and working with the natural world. Hosting hives at the library supports pollinators in our community while creating opportunities for environmental literacy, shared learning, and conversations about sustainability and our connection to nature.

Upcoming Bee Programs
Outdoors

Hive and Seek: Pollinator Survival

May 16th: 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
McCormick Branch
Age Group: Kids
Registration required

About the Program

Step into the wings of a pollinator and see if you can survive the season! Play as a hummingbird, butterfly, or bee as you gather resources, avoid real-world threats, and navigate the challenges pollinators face every day. This fun, interactive experience helps kids understand the important roles different pollinators play in our ecosystem—all through hands-on, active gameplay that’s perfect for nature lovers and kids who like to move.

Learn more
Outdoors

Honey Tasting

May 16th: 02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Eastside Branch
Age Group: Families
Registration required

About the Program

A guided tasting that explores the flavours, aromas, and stories behind local honey. Through a sensory experience, participants discover how bees, flowers, and seasons shape every jar.

Learn more
Outdoors

Hive and Seek: Pollinator Survival

May 20th: 04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
Eastside Branch
Age Group: Kids
Registration required

About the Program

    Step into the wings of a pollinator and see if you can survive the season! Play as a hummingbird, butterfly, or bee as you gather resources, avoid real-world threats, and navigate the challenges pollinators face every day. This fun, interactive experience helps kids understand the important roles different pollinators play in our ecosystem—all through hands-on, active gameplay that’s perfect for nature lovers and kids who like to move.

    Learn more
    Outdoors

    Planting for Pollinators

    May 21st: 06:00 PM - 07:15 PM
    Eastside Branch
    Age Group: Older Adults
    Registration required

    About the Program

    Celebrate World Bee Day with an introduction to WPL’s honeybee hives and local pollinators! Discover fascinating facts about bees, butterflies, birds, and other pollinators, and learn how to attract them to your garden, balcony, or patio with native flowers and shrubs. Explore and interact with the pollinator and sensory gardens in the Naturespace for a fun, educational experience.

    Learn more
    Outdoors

    Meet the Bees

    July 25th: 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
    Eastside Branch
    Age Group: Families
    Registration required

    About the Program

    An engaging, up-close introduction to the world of bees. Learn about hive life, pollination, and the vital role bees play in our ecosystem. Observe a working hive while being guided in a safe and approachable way.

    Learn more

    Bee Informed

    Learn more about our hive, urban beekeeping and the safety protocols for keeping a working beehive in our Naturespace.

    • Advantages of Urban Beekeeping

      Honey bees are just one of a number of pollinators like butterflies, bumble bees and wild bees with whom we already share our urban space.

      Urban beekeeping creates the opportunity to educate citizens about the environment, repurpose unused spaces within our cities and produce hyper-local honey.

    • Bee Safety

      Coexisting with bees in our environment is easy and natural, there are just a few best practices to keep in mind when working around a beehive.

      Honey bees are very docile, focused mainly on bringing floral resources back to their colony. Bees are not aggressive, but they can be defensive, and it’s best to give the bees a bit of space to allow them to carry out their duties without interference.

      Our hive has an entrance located at the front of the bottom box about six inches off the ground. You may notice bees congregating here in the summer months in an effort to cool off. It’s at this entrance that you’ll likely see bees entering and exiting the hive, carrying nectar or pollen, following their upward flight path.

      We ask that you always stay 5 feet back from the hive entrance.

    • Honey Production

      Each year, honey will be harvested from our hive. Flowers and other pollinator plants affect the taste and colour of the honey. Experience the sweetness of the wildflowers within Waterloo.

      Honey produced from the hive will be shared with the community in various ways.

    The Buzz on Bees

    Browse a selection of books that celebrate bees, pollinators, and the vital role they play in our ecosystems.

    The Buzz on Wild Bees: The Little-known Pollinators That Keep Our Planet Humming
    Kira Vermond; illustrated by June Steube
    Honey: Recipes From a Beekeeper's Kitchen
    Amy Newsome
    Green Jolene and the Backyard Bees
    Wendy Mass; illustrated by Billy Yong
    Bumblebee Season: A Novel
    Eileen Garvin
    The Bee Connection
    Ben Newman
    A Garden for the Rusty Patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators
    Lorraine Johnson; illustrated by Ann Sanderson
    The Dog Who Saved the Bees
    Stephanie Gibeault; illustrated by David Hohn
    Common Sense Natural Beekeeping: Sustainable, Bee-friendly Techniques to Help Your Hives Survive and Thrive
    Kim Flottum
    I Saw a Bee
    Rob Ramsden
    Before the Seed: How Pollen Moves
    Susannah Buhrman-Deever; illustrated by Gina Triplett & Matt Curtius
    The Honey Trap: How the Good Intentions of Urban beekeepers risk ecological disaster
    Dana L. Church
    They Work: Honey Bees, Nature's Pollinators
    June Smalls; illustrated by Yukari Mishima
    Cultivating Native Plants for Pollinators : A Comprehensive Guide to Attracting Birds, Bees, and Butterflies
    Helen Yoest
    My Pollinator Garden: How I Plant for Bees, Butterflies, Beetles, and More
    Jordan Zwetchkenbaum; illustrated by Kate Cosgrove
    Bee People and the Bugs They Love
    Frank Mortimer
    Pollinators & Native Plants for Kids: An Introduction to Botany
    Jaret C. Daniels
    Heart of the Hive: Inside the Mind of the Honey Bee and the Incredible Life Force of the Colony
    Hilary Kearney; photography by Eric Tourneret
    Honey Bee: A First Field Guide to the World's Favorite Pollinating Insect
    Priyadarshini Chakrabarti Basu
    The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild
    Thomas D. Seeley
    Beekeepers and What They Do
    Liesbet Slegers
    Queenspotting: Meet the Remarkable Queen Bee and Discover the Drama at the Heart of the Hive
    Hilary Kearney