Local Honey - First off, local honey is delicious. If you ever pull honey from your own hive, you will agree - your honey is the best tasting honey. Not only is it the best tasting, but how much more local can you get then....your backyard. To go along with the great taste of your ultra local honey - its actually good for you. Imagine that. There are many health benefits to honey - especially local honey. The most popular is the fact that it can cure your allergies - some say its a myth, others take a tablespoon of local honey a day and swear by it. It does not hurt to try!
Pollination - The reality is that we would be eating only greens, pecans, root veggies and figs if it were not pollinators. OK - maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but 1/3 of the fruits and veggies we know today depend on bees and other pollinators. If you have a garden, it is amazing the impact of a few hives will have on your watermelons or strawberries. If you are a gardener - a hive really does not add much work to your hobby - but it will bear great fruit and help you fill your larder with delicious veggies for the winter! Even if you do not have a garden (which you should) - you will become more in-tune with nature, seasons and the beautiful cycles of life and death that are necessary to existence.
Educational - Children love bees. This is also proof (see pic) that yes it is safe for children to be near bees. My daughter is still young but she understands things. Respect. Look, don't touch. She has been stung once - a few tears and the removal of the stinger and she was back in business. If your child knows the in's and outs of bees and their hive - they will be set for life. (Community, sacrifice, obedience, simplicity, joy, etc.) Plus - children have an opportunity to understand how nature works and the symbiotic relationship of bees, flowers, fruits and humanity all fit together. You can even make a science experiment out of it by testing different hive types and their impact on the bees or plant different flowers and see their impact on the taste/color of the honey. The possibilities are endless!