scoop

Why So Much Buzz About Bees in the City? Find Out Why Their Popularity is Sky Hive

By Toni Noto

Isn't beekeeping only possible in the countryside? Can bees even find any flowers in the city?

Those are just a couple of questions people ask when they consider the idea of urban beekeeping. But in the last few years, it’s become more popular than ever and beekeeping in less-than-obvious locations can be more feasible than you may think.

As pollinators, bees also provide environmental and economic benefits to cities. And city dwellers benefit from having nature around them – in this case, delicious nature since urban bees provide amazing honey.

We care about this issue for many reasons, including the fact that bees buzz close to home for The Millstone Evans Group. Who would have considered the rooftop of a downtown high-rise office building to be the perfect place for urban beekeeping? Well, that is exactly what’s happening in our Denver office building!

The LoDo Towers Urban Beehive was installed in June 2022 on the rooftop of our Denver office located at 1401 17th Street. You can follow Beehive news and see photos by visiting the MyHive Webpage where our Beekeeper Hannah posts regular updates along with photos.

Hannah and team started with 15,000 bees and, within two months, reached a peak of 50,000 honey-making bees – and have experienced the joys of honey harvest time. Most of the year, the bees are hard at work, though they hibernate in the winter. And while Spring is slow to arrive in Colorado, it’s here now and the bees are busy making glorious liquid gold from the flowers in the neighborhood.

Our beekeeper and her team harvest it by removing the frames of surplus honey that the hive produces while leaving the bees in the hive. Once the frames are harvested, the honey is extracted, jarred, and labeled for LoDo Towers with honey delivery expected at regular intervals.

This sweet idea came from a group of childhood friends and their innovative take on conventional beekeeping, which led them from backyard beekeeping to a global urban beekeeping adventure that started in 2013 and continues to reconnect city folks to nature.

Alvéole’s now global social company has completely flipped the conventional beekeeping model, from one person taking care of 1,000 honeybee hives to 1,000 people coming together around a single one. As a results, thousands of people are now falling in love with bees, including all of our team.

Check out the Alvéole MyHive Blog to follow their progress and read the latest news along with articles on sustainability/ESG, community engagement, education, and more.

Don't miss out on the buzz! 🐝

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