For a while now, the idea of one day keeping bees has been growing in my mind. So, when I caught a passing glimpse of some bee hives in a corner of Parc de la Tête d’Or, I was keen to go back for a closer look.

Bee nesting shelters in Parc de la Tête d'Or

As it turns out, they are not bee hives, but nesting boxes to encourage wild bees. A series of shelters each holds nine boxes filled with different nesting materials- twigs, hollow bamboo, logs with holes drilled in them, and blocks of clay. These bee shelters are part of the UrbanBees Project.

Different nesting materials in bee shelters

Drilled logs in a bee nesting box

I didn’t see any bees while I was there, but I’m hopeful they may appear as summer approaches.