Context
Ljubljana is a green city and carries the title Green Capital of Europe 2016. It has 542 m2 of public green spaces per capita, more than 46% of the city’s area is covered by indigenous forest, almost 75% of all areas are green, and more than 20% are protected areas. In the Rural Development Strategy of the City of Ljubljana for the programming period 2021–2027, the city has set a strategic goal – to ensure high-quality agricultural and forestry goods from a preserved environment with the aim of self-sufficiency for the city. In 2025, Ljubljana registered 454 apiaries or bee stands and 377 beekeepers who were beekeeping with 4765 colonies. Bees are an indicator of a healthy environment and vital for food production. As part of the Bee Trail in Ljubljana for the past 10 years, bees have been placed at the centre of concern for biodiversity conservation and food supply. With the trail, a space for meeting, raising awareness, and educating various stakeholders has been formed, from children, professional services, and companies to individuals.
Objectives
Within the Bee Path in Ljubljana, two areas of interest have been formed and two specific goals regarding the geographic specifics have been set:
- rural areas – co-financing mechanisms were created to help beekeepers in rural areas to develop their beekeeping as an economic activity (e.g. purchase of equipment, setting up apiaries) and different educational programmes for beekeepers were set up to keep them educated to avoid spreading different diseases.
- urban areas – urban beekeeping as a growing activity within urban areas needed a special approach due to bees interacting with citizens. Focus was on awareness-raising, promotion, development of new products, and education. Special emphasis was also given to biodiversity issues specially preservation of wild pollinators in the city and maintenance of green areas to ensure good and sufficient pasture for them.
Implementation
To address the goals and challenges, a functional and long-term sustainable operating model was established:
- The supporting hand principle – Ljubljana not only developed the Bee Path but also supported it with its employees and provided a coordinator who dedicated 20% of their working time to the project, provided meeting facilities and financial resources, including the coordinator’s salary and a fund for small projects. The city coordinator plays the role of a facilitator who provides support, while members of Bee Path are fully responsible for the development, financing, and promotion of their ideas. City primarily encourages practical and concrete ideas with the support of one or more members of the working group.
- The principle of participation and volunteerism – any individual, institution, or company can become a member of the Bee Path and can also leave the working group at any time. There is no membership fee, and all participants do their work voluntarily. Members can communicate and collaborate within or outside the framework of the Bee Path but must respect the Bee Path standards and adhere to its principles. Bee Path members are encouraged to participate directly and are supported in doing so.