Honey bees have fallen on hard times in recent years. A mysterious phenomenon known as “colony collapse disorder,” where worker bees that maintain a hive suddenly disappear, has beekeepers on edge. Bees are also susceptible to all kinds of viruses and mites, not to mention pesticides. But as bee populations have decreased, the demand for locally produced honey has increased. Luckily, a growing group of Philly-based beekeepers is taking care of our local bees.

You can get a look inside the work of these beekeepers this Sunday at the Woodlands Cemetery as part of “Open Apiary Day,” a series of events across the city aimed at familiarizing folks with urban beekeeping.

In West Philly, beekeeper Daniel Duffy will discuss beekeeping at the working hives on the cemetery grounds from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Beekeeping has been intertwined with Philadelphia history since the 18th century. L.L. Langstroth, who is considered the father of modern beekeeping, was a Philadelphia native.

Open Apiary Day events are also taking place in Fairmount/Brewerytown and Mount Airy. The West Philly event includes a tour of the cemetery and arboretum.

Organizers are asking people to RSVP for the free event by calling 215-386-2181 or e-mailing info [at] woodlandsphila.org.

Later this month The Rotunda is hosting a June 23 screening of Queen of the Sun, a film about the disappearance of bees worldwide. The film starts at 7 p.m. and is a fundraiser for the Mariposa Food Co-op expansion.

The farmers’ market season is in full swing now and while just about everybody knows about the Clark Park market,  many might not know about two other chances to get fresh food in West Philly going on today and tomorrow.

• The Walnut Hill Community Farm Stand

Youth growers from the Walnut Hill Community Farm (4610 Market St.) will be selling food from the farm today (and every Tuesday and Friday) after school from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the farm’s location, right near the 46th Street El stop.

• The African American Farmers of Operation Springplant in Henderson, NC at the 50th and Kingsessing rec center

This is a rare opportunity to meet some small-scale farmers from out of town who will be selling fruits and vegetables (from kale and sweet potatoes to apples and watermelon) who will be selling stuff not yet in season up here. Operation Springplant is made up of African American and limited-resource growers around Henderson, North Carolina. They will be selling their goods from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 50th and Kingsessing near the rec center, where some neighborhood youths also run an urban farm. So far this is planned to be just a one-day deal. If successful, organizers say, the farmers will make return trips to West Philly.

Urban gardening comes in many forms – the backyard plot, the communal garden and even “take back the land” Johnny Appleseed inspired “guerrilla gardening” like Plotland at 44th and Locust. After tonight, guerrilla gardening will get a little easier and quicker.

The University City District will unveil the first quarter-operated seed bomb machine in Philadelphia tonight at the Night Market (3911 Market St.). This retrofitted gumball machine dispenses little seed clusters that can be tossed into an open space with dirt and within a few days (or after there is a little rain or watering) wildflowers will start to grow. Based on the “seed grenades” of the 1970s, these gumball-size, handrolled spheroids contain a little clay, a little compost and some seeds.

The L.A.-based startup Greenaid supplies the machines and the seed balls.

After tonight, Grid reports that the University City District’s machine will go into their lobby and be brought out for special occasions.

You can also buy your own bombs from Greenaid and even get a wooden slingshot for long-distance planting. Look out for more of these in the future. This is right up West Philly’s alley.

Here’s a cool video that shows how it works:

Common Studios: Green Aid from ISHOTHIM on Vimeo.

Editor’s Note: The folks who organize Plotland have come to an agreement with the owners of the property since this story was first published. They can stay, but the owners have asked that the space not be used for social gatherings because of liability concerns.

There are something like 40,000 vacant lots in Philadelphia and bad things tend to happen in them. But the work of two West Philly women and a cadre of volunteers has turned one of those lots into a thriving community space nicknamed “Plotland.”

Located on the northeast corner of 44th and Locust, Plotland has gone from a weed-filled, garbage-strewn mess to a mosaic of raised beds with everything from kale and tomatoes to flowers.

If you have walked by that corner in recent weeks you have no doubt seen it take shape. Folks hang out there now, often on the brick patio complete with used lawn furniture. A young girl in the neighborhood recently had her birthday party there. The space is useful again.

That was the idea all along, said Amanda Sebald, who along with Geraldine Lavin began organizing Plotland in earnest in early spring.

“What we are on our way to creating is a lot that is everyone’s not just ours,” said Sebald.

Sebald and Lavin each had been thinking about a possible use for the space, which is privately owned (more on that later) and nearby the small commercial strip that includes Evan’s Pizza, Koch’s Deli, CVS, Cafe Clave, a laundromat and the nearby Penn Alexander School. A lot of foot traffic passes by each day and the lot gets a lot of sun – two important factors for a community space that is built around getting volunteers to help grow things.

Great idea right? OK, the only chink in the plan is that what is going on at Plotland is kind of like squatting (more specifically, “guerilla gardening“), though that lot has been vacant for several years. As mentioned earlier, the land is privately owned so Plotland’s long-term existence is still in question. To help garner support, Plotland organizers are throwing a potluck fundraiser Saturday, June 11. Attendees are asked to bring a dish and a few bucks to kick in to help the project continue.

So far community donations have brought in bricks for the patio, soil for the raised beds and even the bottom half of a mannequin now used as a plant stand. Most important of all, though, is the help people have offered – everything from weeding and planting to bricklaying and hauling – to take the lot from an eyesore to a community resource with heaps of potential.

“A big part of asking people to contribute different things is so they feel ownership,” Sebald said.

For more information go to Plotland’s Facebook page. Or better yet, just stop by.