CHICAGO — It’s that time of year you might start noticing your backyard is humming with bees. Love the honey but hate the hive? A Chicago woman is determined to change your perspective.
If there every were a bee-whisperer, Jana Kinsman just might be it. She tends to over 40 hives throughout the South and West sides of Chicago and runs her entire business by bicycle.
“Whenever I’m in the hive, it’s like some type of meditation,” she says. “It’s just this relaxing, blissful thing.”
With each visit, Jana and educates gardeners and children alike on the little pollinators.
Jana labels every jar of honey from the specific hive location.
“Part of the reason I like bottles of honey based on the neighborhood is because you can taste the subtle difference between the neighborhoods,” she says.
Each hive collects pollen from a range of neighborhood flowers. She sold out of not only her Back of the Yards honey, but every jar collected in the city last year.
Filling the backorders for this year keeps the Bicycle Bee Lady and her 40 city hives busy. But it’s the way the her work is teaching people to appreciate the unique flavor of their neighborhoods has been the sweetest part for Jana.
“I love that I get on my bike and go through the South Side and experience all these different neighborhoods. I just feel more connected with my city overall.”
