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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
When Chris Johnston's daughter urged him to bring two million bees up to Yellowknife last spring, he had no idea how the colony would fare North of 60.

Chris Johnston checks on one of the 27 beehives he owns at Arctic Farmers. Johnston is planning to make his own honey by next summer. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo

The four hives were doing well until winter came. Johnston planned to store the bees inside a greenhouse to protect them from the cold.

However, with 48 days of -40 C weather last winter, none of the bees survived.

Not willing to be deterred by the setback, Johnson decided to give it another shot. Except this time he decided to raise the ante by purchasing 30 hives - of which 27 have survived.

"It started off as a bet and a hobby," said Johnston. "One or two hives is a hobby. More than 20 hives is an agricultural experiment."

Johnston was motivated to expand his endeavor in the wake of the deaths of millions of bees across Canada.

"Sometimes we do stuff just to prove we can. Then it becomes about who can benefit from it," said Johnston.

Johnston explains that bees are necessary for the pollination of plants. As such, they are essential in supporting ecosystems and human populations.

"Without bees we die, it's as simple as that," said Johnston.

While it is possible to pollinate flowers and vegetables by hand, it is a very impractical process.

"It would cost a fortune," said Johnston.

Purchasing more than 10 million bees isn't exactly cheap either. According to Johnston the 30 hives alone cost $5,000. Including labour and maintenance costs, Johnston estimates the entire project will cost $40,000.

Luckily for him, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment believes there are residual benefits to the program. As a result, Minister David Ramsay provided $20,000 in funding.

As part of the deal, Johnston is hoping to include an educational component in his operation, which would allow young children and students to come out to the hives and learn about the importance of bees.

Johnston has also had support from Arctic Farmer owner Darwin Rudkevitch, who lets him store the bees on his property.

"I don't really know many people who would put 10 million bees in their backyard free of charge," joked Johnston.

Johnston said storing the bees at Rudkevitch's property has been a mutually beneficial relationship.

Rudkevitch said he has noticed a difference in his crops ever since the bees showed up.

"There are more blossoms on the flowers and we have more vegetables," said Rudkevitch. "It's much better than it used to be."

One of Johnston's goals is to be able to make his own honey, which he then hopes to sell at the Yellowknife farmers market.

So far, Rudkevitch is one of the few people to have tasted the honey.

"It's great, it's fantastic," said Rudkevitch. "The bees take on the flavour of their environment. It actually tastes like Yellowknife."

Unfortunately, honey won't be ready for the public until at least next year.

On the other hand, people are lucky that Johnston does not intend to recover the costs of his operation by selling the honey - an option that would cost $100 a pot.

"It would be the world's most expensive honey," he said.

Johnston is now debating what to do with the bees over winter. He is not willing to risk storing them indoors without heat, but says it would cost upwards of $5,000 to keep them here. He is also considering shipping the bees south to be stored for the winter - an option he is favouring as it would save him more than $4,000.

Whatever he decides to do, Johnston says there are no guarantees the bees will survive.

"In April, who knows what'll happen. It's Russian Roulette. You really just don't know," said Johnston.

Although it is unlikely keeping bees will allow him to quit his day job, Johnston says he is hoping the bees will survive the winter.

"Bees are great employees. They go out there, they know what they're doing - they just do their job and they don't talk back."

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