Daily Inspiration: Meet Keith Roberts

Today we’d like to introduce you to Keith Roberts.

Hi Keith, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Keith Roberts first realized his fascination for bees during a trip to the L.A. County Fair. He was struck by the large observation bee hive set up by the Los Angeles County Beekeepers Association (LACBA) and spent most of his day at the booth asking questions and gathering information about honeybees. He continued his education from there through reading every beekeeping book he could find and engaging in a powerful mentorship with Walt McBride who taught him much of what he knows about bees. Keith became an adept beekeeper as well as the Vice President and subsequently the President of LACBA. Keith is still active in the club and shares his knowledge and experience whenever he can, including teaching beekeeping 101 classes on a monthly basis. In 2014, Keith partnered with Danny Finkelstein to realize his ultimate dream of creating a hub for the beekeeping community in the San Fernando Valley. This hub is known today as The Valley Hive.

We are now running a non profit called Share The Buzz that helps fund a program specifically for treating veterans suffering from PTSD, and we work with the Greater L.A VA to make this happen.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Nothing about beekeeping is smooth. As many in our industry say, “there are far easier ways to make money.” One does this because of the love for the bees.

Across the country, bees are suffering primarily from the four “P’s”: Pests, Pathogens, Pesticide, and Poor nutrition. One or more of these threats affect our colonies, and our job is to the best we can to help the bees survive thru these issues. In Southern California, add wildfire, drought, and even theft and vandalism.

Not to mention staying open the entire time thru Covid.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
First and foremost we are an educational center dedicated to advocating for the honeybee, one of humankind’s most important pollinator. Located off of busy State Highway 27 also known as Topanga Canyon in Chatsworth, we sell honey, candles, and other gifts from the hive as well as bee supplies for local beekeepers. We have an observation hive inside the shop where people can watch a real live colony of honeybees work safely behind glass.

We also host a range of classes on site, such as the Beekeeping Experience and the Six Week Beginning Beekeeping Course. We have an online course as well. We do a variety of special lectures as well, such as mead making workshops.

We offer pollination services to local orchards and farms.

The Valley Hive also has a trained and dedicated team of beekeepers that specialize in concierge hive management for urban colonies. We manage dozens of clients throughout Los Angeles who want the benefit of honeybees in their backyard but would rather us professionally manage them.

In short, there is no other beekeeping operation in Southern California that offers such a diverse range of products, services, classes, experiences, and lectures all on the campus of the beautiful Topanga Nursery.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
We are open six days a week from 830 am to 5 pm. We are only closed on Wednesdays. We would love to share the art, science, and history of beekeeping with your readers any time they are ready to come on by.

Our Share The Buzz non profit is a registered 501C3 and helps veterans, first responders, and disenfranchised students learn about the bees and how to keep them. Any financial support is tax deductible and greatly appreciated.

Otherwise, remember that honeybees are responsible for a third of everything we eat, it takes two million visits to flowers to make a single pound of honey, and a single bee can only produce a 1/12th of teaspoon of honey in her entire life. It is only by working together with the thousands of her sisters that the colony can sometimes produce more than 40 pounds of honey in a single week.

A bee only lives about 4 to 6 weeks, and she is setting up reserves for her sisters in the winter that she will never meet. Her legacy is their capacity to survive the harshest winter.

It is only by working together and collaboratively that the colony thrives.

We can learn a thing or to from them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thevalleyhive.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevalleyhive/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevalleyhive/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-valley-hive-chatsworth