What does it mean to be member at Local Buzz?

Local Buzz functions through a membership-based model where anyone, regardless of honey bee knowledge or experience, can own a share of our community hives.

The membership fee is paid in advance to become a shareholder of a Local Buzz hive. Throughout the season, honey is harvested and shared equally among members.

On average, ByBi’s hives in Oslo produce around 30-40 kg of honey per year, so one share gives you app. >3 kg, enough for two people’s yearly honey needs! This means you get local, unprocessed and real honey straight from the bees.

Our 3 community hives are cared for by Idil, ByBi’s faglig leder and the main responsibility for the wellbeing of the hive lies with her. This means you get hands-on involvement without any worries.

Through your hands-on membership, you are entitled several times in the season to visit the bees who produce this golden delicacy for you! Suits and gloves are provided so you just need to bring a curious mind.

Membership perks

  • Hands-on hive visits

    Hands-on visits take place (almost) weekly between mid-April to mid-September in small groups of 5-6.

    • Members get 5 visits in total, and use them once a month.
    • Each visit is on average 1.5-2 hours.
    • Hive visits will take place on Tuesdays kl.16, as long as the weather permits.
    • Hive visits last around 1.5 hours, depending on the task. After getting dressed, Idil introduces the day’s goals and explains what is happening inside the hive and what it means step by step. Hive visits are very interactive and you get to use tools and practice. There are always numerous moments of learning and opportunities to link practice with theory.
    • Every visit’s highlights are recorded in a beekeeping diary, which is a part of the Learning Platform, in order to bridge the gap between hive inspections. Newsletters summarise monthly developments at the hives.
    • A sign-up sheet is shared where you can view available spots.
  • Honey

    Estimated amount per member is app. 3 kg of honey. Ever year we surpass this amount 🙂

    By harvesting at 3 different times of the season, we get various exciting kinds of honey.

    In 2022, Local Buzz won two gold medals in the honeydew (honningdugg) category at NM i Honning (the National Norwegian Honey Championship).

    In 2020 and 2023, Local Buzz won silver medals at NM i Honning.

  • Beeswax

    Collected throughout the year, the beeswax is rendered at the end of the season and divided into a share for each member.

  • Webinar: Introduction to beekeeping

    In this 1.5-2 hour seminar, you will be immersed in a wide range of information from the life of bees to using materials and tools properly. At the end there is a Q&A session about your membership, using the Learning Platform and all.

    As a result, you will get acquainted with how Local Buzz works and the life inside the hive, hopefully preparing you theoretically and spiritually for your first hive visit 🙂

    Topics covered:

    • The community inside the hive
    • Beekeeping equipment, tools and protocols
    • Seasons and changes of life inside the hive
    • Local Buzz membership perks
    • Learning platform: Resources and support tools for new beekeepers!

    It is very important for first-time beekeepers to attend the webinar. This way, you will be feeling comfortable opening a hive and performing inspections with us.

  • Workshop: Honey harvest and extraction (slyngedag)

    This is an extremely unique activity, seeing the transfer of this golden liquid from frames into jars. It engages every sense, from the sweet smelling aroma to sticky hands. Not to mention the taste straight from a honey-laden frame!

    • Honey is harvested 3 times throughout the year to capture the season’s various nectar flows, from end of June to end of August.
    • We typically harvest specific to our queens: Queen Mel, Queen Yaps and Queen D were some of our resident queens in 2024.
    • At the end of the season, you will have several different honeys, each one distinctive of the season and the colony who produced it.
    • Each extraction workshop lasts around 3-4 hours and dates are announced in April-May. 
    • The workshop involves extracting honey from frames into containers to be shared.
    • You will get sticky! But as a reward, you will experience honey fresh from the hive. 
  • Workshop: Honey tasting

    At the end of the season is the time for a guided tasting workshop to appreciate and explore the differences in honey’s taste profiles.

    We will be using a honey-vocabulary wheel and sensory chart to help us translate what we sense into words. I will also share with you very interesting and special monofloral honeys I have collected throughout my travels, and you can also bring an interesting honey to taste!

  • Workshop: Wax rendering

    Beeswax is a beautiful substance produced by honeybees themselves, and we ensure that no part of this valuable material goes to waste by carefully collecting and rendering it after harvest.

    Through a gentle melting process, we purify the beeswax by removing impurities to create a clean golden block, and then dividing it into smaller cubes by melting again into molds.

    Beeswax can then be used in a variety of ways – from making candles and natural cosmetics to food wraps and even wood polish. We talk about its properties, its historical significance and its uses, and share recipes.

    In this workshop, you’ll get hands-on experience with this process, learning how to render and repurpose beeswax yourself, and walk away with your wax share.

  • Newsletters

    The season is short in Norway and the growth in the hives happens exponentially. From one visit to another, you may be surprised at the differences you will witness!

    Therefore, we send out ‘The Local Buzzer’ newsletters, which are a source of real-time information. You receive these to get updates on your hives, the specific attributes of the month we’re in, announcements about events and other activities, and inspiring links to keep you buzzing.

  • Access to our Learning Platform

    The key to learning is your engagement. Therefore you’ll get linked to our Learning Platform.

    The learning platform is divided into months, and designed to hold exciting and interesting content according to the month, and resources for your learning journey in beekeeping.

    This will stay with you even after your membership is over.

    Through the platform you will have access to videos, blogposts, webinar slides, the beekeeping diary and the hive visit attendance sheet.

  • Access to suits and gloves

    Local Buzz owns suits and gloves of various sizes and styles, and you do not have to worry about what you wear when you show up.

  • Access to our collective photo album

    Taking photos at the hives is not the most convenient thing. For one, you are focused on what you are doing and don’t wanna get stung. Yet you also want to document these moments. No worries – we usually take turns, and our beekeeper tries to take many photos during the hive visits. Later, we all upload our photos in a collective album so everyone has access to all the photos.

About Local Buzz

Founded in the autumn of 2020 by Idil Akdos, Local Buzz Andelsbirøkterlag is one of the first initiatives engaging citizens in a community-supported beekeeping model. Since 2023, Local Buzz is collaborating with ByBi.

Andelsbirøkterlag is a form of Andelsbruk, operating with the same principles applied to beekeeping.

Local Buzz takes into its heart the mission of familiarising citizens with honey bees by involving them in the beekeeping practice through low-threshold activities. In this way, Local Buzz aims to increase participation in local, sustainable and ethical honey production.

Engagement is key in every activity as Local Buzz strives to use the honey bee as the link between humans and food and more broadly, culture and nature.

Email idil@bybi.no for your questions!

Location

Local Buzz Andelsbirøkterlag operated at the rooftop of Greenhouse Oslo for 4 years.

Due to the building getting demolished in 2025, Local Buzz is moving to Stensparken nærmiljøhage.

The apiary is located at a quiet corner, tucked away from the visitors of the park, where there is ample access to flowers.

There is a shared room with a meeting space, a kitchenette and small toilet alongside storage areas, which will also be available to us. 🙂