Concourse 'Bee' at O'Hare Airport

People aren't the only flyers at Chicago's O'Hare airport these days.  In 2011, the Chicago Department of Aviation installed an airport apiary with 28 beehives. With over 1 million bees, the apiary is located in an undeveloped grassy area with brush vegetation and scrub trees. The hives are cared for in partnership with a city agency, providing valuable job experience for disadvantaged people in the local community.  Click on the link for photos and more information on this award winning idea.

Chicago O'Hare Apiary

If a bee apiary wasn't enough, the airport also has vegetable gardens in the middle of the airport!  Over 1,100 plants can be grown in the 26 aeroponic tower gardens.  Aeroponic gardening is a method of growing plants without soil.  A nutrient solution cycles through the towers, bathing the roots and supporting plant growth without the use of any fertilizers or chemicals. There is an increasing demand for Aeroponics as large parcels of agricultural land are competing with commercial development. Airport restaurants gather fresh produce such as swiss chard, basil, lettuces, peppers and herbs to prepare meals for lucky airport travelers.

O'Hare Tower Gardens

Natural Alternatives to Pesticides...

There are many factors that contribute to Colony Collapse Disorder but chief among them is pesticide use in agriculture as well as in home gardens. Many homeowners turn to pesticides because they don't know what else to do. There are many effective alternatives! Read on!

 Instead of Roundup try spraying weeds with full strength vinegar. For large patches of weeds try dousing the roots with boiling water. Here is a great link for natural alternatives including beneficial insects and recipes for natural pesticide sprays...

Pesticide Alternatives

This editorial by Clay Evans in the Daily Camera addresses the unintended consequences of spraying and use of pesticides. Click on this link for a crash course in what neonicotinoids (systemic pesticides) are doing to the environment and the toll it is taking on honeybees and native pollinators...

Evans: The Bees in the Coal Mine

Check out this healthy top bar hive in a pesticide free garden overlooking north Boulder...