Nikos Chatzilias spends his days tending to bee colonies, with a unique view out over the rooftops of Greece’s capital.

Athenians are embracing urban beekeeping and volunteering to host hives on their rooftops to support local ecosystems and reconnect with nature.

Chatzilias consumed a lot of honey even before becoming a professional beekeeper.

He frequently found himself dissatisfied with run-of-the-mill product and decided to make his own, signing up for beekeeping classes in 2020.

This summer, Chatzilias cared for 30 hives he placed on seven Athens-area rooftops – including one with a view of the Parthenon.

His approximately 1.2 million bees produced 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of honey – roughly the weight of a small car.

Each batch was packaged and named for its neighborhood of origin.

Varying tastes of Athens honey, he explained, come from the proportion of eucalyptus, acacia and bitter orange present in different areas of the city, plus other flora.

On the southern coast, for example, pine trees give a forest-like note.

Every few weeks Chatzilias visits the rooftops to check on hive health, ensuring queens are present and no disease has spread.

Urban beekeeping is neither new around the world, nor in Athens; decades ago, Greek families brought hives with them when they moved from the countryside.

Chatzilias sees today’s beekeeping efforts as more intentional and focused on environmental implications.

Despite growing interest, would-be beekeepers can be stopped by objections from fellow residents of their apartment buildings who frequently express fears of getting stung.

Chatzilias, however, remains optimistic about expansion. He added more hives this year, plus a rooftop. His goal is to eventually produce a ton of honey.

One host, Aggelina Chatzistavrou, first fell in love with bees while in university.

She believes if everyone could have a hive in an open space at their home, it would change the environment in a big way.

This year, for the first time, Chatzilias won’t move his bees back to the mountains for the winter.

He hopes this will make his job a little easier.

The challenges of urban beekeeping compared to that in the wild, he explains, include hauling heavy hives up building staircases in the spring and back down before winter, and often passing through people’s homes to reach the rooftops.

But he says there are also benefits to keeping hives in the same location year-round: bees can become more familiar with the area and be more productive.

AP Video by Lefteris Pitarakis

Production by Theodora Tongas