Backyard beekeeping a passion for Rudi Peters in Terrace, B.C.
Peters noticed his cherry tree was producing less fruit with fewer bees, so started keeping hives of his own
Backyard beekeeping started as a hobby for Rudi Peters in Terrace, B.C., and now, it's become a little bit more.
"As my wife says now it's a hobby run amok and I'm up to just around 100 hives now," the master beekeeper and owner of Skeena Valley Apiary told Daybreak North's Russell Bowers.
Peters said it's the benefits of bees that got him started in the first place. His backyard is also home to a cherry tree that predates the bee hives.
When his family first moved into the house, he said it was swarming with bees through the spring.
"The tree is about 60 feet from the deck and you could hear the tree from the deck," he said.
"Over the years we went from having wheelbarrows of cherries to literally an ice cream pail, and it's like, o.k., something's weird."
Peters said when he noticed that, he sat under the chair for an hour and only counted about 10 bees in that time, and decided to rectify the situation with hives of his own.
Now, he's trying to spread his passion for backyard beekeeping throughout Terrace — last weekend he started teaching a 5-week course on the basics of the practice.
To hear the full interview with Rudi Peters, click the audio labelled: Rudi Peters' backyard bees.