Cankarjev dom Recipient of the Child-Friendly Apiary Award

We are delighted to announce that Cankarjev dom’s rooftop apiary has joined the select group of recipients of the Child-Friendly Apiary Award. We are proud that our apiary has been recognized as a place that’s safe and suitable for children and that we can thus help in educating and raising awareness among children and young people about beekeeping and the importance of bees for the environment.


Urban Beekeeping at Cankarjev dom

As pollinators of most plants, bees provide an important link to the natural balance and existence of life on Earth. Through urban beekeeping at Cankarjev dom, we are helping bees survive—and thereby ensuring the survival of humans. 

A pioneer of Slovenia’s urban beekeeping, Cankarjev dom’s history of apiculture dates back to April 2011 when so-called stacking beehives were first installed on one of our cultural centre’s roof terraces. Today, our hives are home to six colonies of Carniolan bees. Annually, our harvest yields between 40 and 100 kilos of honey. In the urban environment, grazing is favourable to bees; although it may not appear so at first sight, there are many trees, groves, and gardens in the city. Cankarjev dom’s bees have immediate access to the Tivoli Park, the Castle and Rožnik hills, urban ornamental plants and numerous tree-lined alleys. Keenly aware of the importance of sustainable cities, Cankarjev dom grows honey plants and manages the green areas of the Council of Europe Park.

Cankarjev dom’s official beekeeper is Franc Petrovčič, initiator of the Urban Beekeeper Association and recipient of the Anton Janša Decoration (Order III).
 

The Selection Process 

The Child-Friendly Apiary Award is based on special training in Safety and Responsibility at the Apiary, organized by the City of Ljubljana in cooperation with the Eneja Institute as part of the Bee in Ljubljana program. The training is part of the protected Apipedagogika® educational program and provides beekeepers with the knowledge they need to work safely and responsibly with children in the immediate vicinity of the apiary. The programme covers legal and educational content, practical procedures, and protocols for ensuring safety.

After successfully completing the training, beekeepers receive a certificate and the right to display a Child-Friendly Apiary sign. This sign informs visitors and passers-by that this apiary provides professional and safe conditions for children to visit. The beekeeper is also entered in the list of child-friendly apiaries maintained by the API Network of Kindergartens and Schools APIS RETIS.