Bees are the sometimes unsung hero of the animal world. More and more scientists and everyday people are singing their praises and indeed a growing trend is the rooftop bee hives appearing in cities from New York to Sydney and beyond.
The good news just keeps on coming…
People such as Tricia Sedgwick would love to see beehives popping up in gardens across Vancouver. Sedgwick is doing her part to encourage the growth of local beekeeping by organizing a bee school for children. Dozens of children ages 5 to 12 take part in three two-hour-long workshops and then participated in a market day at the garden.
Centennial Park, an iconic park in the heart of Sydney is home to European honey beehives and produces its signature honey, which is selling by the truck load.
Centennial Park’s beehives are located within a protected bird sanctuary, which is also home to a rare pocket of the endangered Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub. Each batch of Centennial Park Honey tastes different. Its distinct local flavours vary based on the season and the combination of nectars collected by the bees.
But yet there’s more…
The world famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City is raising thousands of honey bees on its rooftop. The iconic hotel plans to harvest its own honey. New York City boasts a NYC Beekeepers Association – traditional rural pursuits are becoming common urban pastimes.
The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment state that, “bees pollinate a third of the world’s crops and play a key role in three-quarters of the foods that provide us with not just nutrition but the simple joys of life. The massive die-off of honeybees in recent years is due to pesticide exposure, disease, parasites, and poor nutrition—yes, bees face their own food crisis”.
Whenever you can please support campaigns that help save precious bees.
Healthy bees equal sustainability for us all.
Learn about how you can help the bee population from your own backyard here.
Elise Hawthorne is a freelance writer
