Urban Apiary

08/03/2026

https://livpsych.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9yJ2S5ok83w6Hiu

26/09/2025

Open Gardens are a fabulous family outing! There are going to be some great plants available for sale - try get there!

07/09/2025

It's a beautiful day to appreciate the bees and butterflies doing their thing at Northwards House in Parktown. A special treat if you love heritage homes!

Sunday is fun day! You don't need to book - tickets are available at the gate - Don't miss out!
📍 21 Rockridge Road, enter via Wits Department of Education, Parktown
🕤 9:30–4pm 🎟️ R50, free for children under 12
🏛️ Join Neil Viljoen’s guided house tour at 10am — additional R50 per person (limited to 30 per tour)
♿ Limited wheelchair access 🍴 Refreshments will be available. No pets allowed - sorry!
Explore the historic elegance of Northwards House, a heritage mansion designed by Sir Herbert Baker in 1904. Wander through a portion of its original Italianate gardens, with views over Johannesburg’s northern suburbs and azaleas in full bloom.

24/11/2024

Just a few of the little bees we saw on this morning's outing... A sunny day in an indigenous garden with Gardens of the Golden City .

Huge thanks to the garden owners who so generously share their private spaces and the volunteers who work at the gate. Without them these events would not be possible.

17/11/2024

Waste not want not. Honey bees are remarkable recyclers, this little worker bee is recovering propolis from the edges of a super. Look at how she's gathering it as if it's pollen, to take back to the hive.

03/11/2024

It's a glorious day for a garden visit! Don't forget your hat and sunscreen.

19/10/2024

We've been really quiet because we've been SUPER busy working on The Johannesburg Garden Club Open Garden. It is finally here and it's going to be fantastic! Come if you can. Tickets available on Quicket and at the gate.

20/09/2024

The Great Southern Bioblitz starts today!

Join the biggest annual nature survey in the Southern Hemisphere!

How?
1) Download the app or create a profile on iNaturalist.org.
2) Take photos of wild animals, plants, and fungi wherever you are this weekend (20th-23rd September)
3) Upload your sightings to iNaturalist, where they will automatically be counted within the survey! Upload straight away, or anytime before 7th October!

Anyone can take part, and you don't need to be able to identify your sightings! Your fellow iNaturalists can do that once you upload your sightings!

The Great Southern Bioblitz is an awesome way to connect with nature and discover the amazing diversity around you! Plus, every record added to iNaturalist helps scientists track and understand the world's biodiversity!

Tips:
Make sure you have the GPS or 'location' setting turned on on the phone or camera you are using to capture your observations! This way the location will be automatically recorded for your upload, and you won't have to try and remember where you took each photo!
Take multiple clear photos of one animal, plant or fungus for each record. Photos from different angles and with size references will help others to identify your sightings.
Head to for more information and to register for a certificate of participation!

13/09/2024

I love being in a beautiful garden and I've had the fortune of having a sneak peek at the Spring blooms at of St Christopher - it is a fairytale! They are having their annual Open Garden in aid of African Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind on the 15th of September in Hyde Park. Tickets did already sell out but then they've released a few more so if you're keen, don't sit on your hands!

🗓 Date: 15th September 2024
⏰ Time: 10:00 – 15:00
🎟 Tickets: R200 (includes a drink from Miss Molly)
📍 Address: 120 9th Rd, Hyde Park, Sandton

https://www.quicket.co.za/events/275524-spring-musical-azalea-day-for-sa-guide-dogs/?ref=events-list #/

Book quickly! THEY WILL SELL OUT!!! Note: You CANNOT get tickets at the door, you need to purchase through Quicket.

09/08/2024

11/07/2024

I miss seeing all the solitary bees in our garden during these winter months. Here's a pic I took when the days were warmer - it felt like this one was smiling for me!
I also love how you can see the three little eyes (ocelli) on the top of her head. Ocelli are simple photo-receptors, they detect light. They are made up of a single lens and several sensory cells. Ocelli don't form a complex image of the environment like the compound eyes do, but are used to detect movement.
If you look carefully you can see the tiny specks of pollen that have lodged onto her wings and hairy body.

27/04/2024

Take part in the City Nature Challenge in Joburg - and you could win a jar of our award winning honey! Citizen science is a wonderful way to help monitor biodiversity and everyone is welcome.

1.Register on the platform iNaturalist
2.Visit Melville Koppies this Sunday between 08:00 - 11:30
3.Photograph as many species as you can (make sure you capture some key identifying traits - sometimes that means taking more than one pic)
4.Upload your sightings to iNaturalist

We'll select the top 3 sightings and reward them with some of mother nature's best bounty.

On your marks get set - go!

P.s. you don't need to know what it is that you're photographing, the smart iNaturalist AI will make suggestions when you upload and the even smarter identifiers will add their input. That way you also get to learn - win win!

Melville Koppies offers hiking, walking, photographing, guided tours, bird watching or just chilling out. R90 pp and R50 under 18 goes toward maintenance of the Koppies.

www.mk.org.za and 079 532 0083